Posted on 09/27/2015 11:14:51 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
LEXINGTON,Ky. — Rand Paul was right.
In January 2014, the day after The Atlantic anointed Paul, Kentucky’s junior U.S. Senator, as the Republican frontrunner in the 2016 presidential race, Paul told the Herald-Leader “it’s still too early probably to talk about things like that.”
“That sounds unlucky to me,” he said.
Less than two years later, Paul’s luck, it seems, is running out.
Campaigning on Friday in New Hampshire, Paul continues to charge ahead with his struggling presidential campaign, but speculation is growing that he might be the next Republican candidate to drop out of the race.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker have already folded, and Paul is one of the hot names in the parlor game of guessing who will exit next.
On Friday, the Washington Post and Politico devoted space to an early draft of Paul’s presidential campaign obituary.
“Walker’s departure from the race means that the senator from Kentucky is no longer the front-runner for the most disappointing campaign of 2016,” the Post wrote. “So, congrats on that. But Paul appears to have dropped entirely off the radar of most Republican voters.”
Politico’s weekly poll of political insiders from early-voting states put Paul right behind Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former New York Gov. George Pataki as the next to drop out, with 22 percent saying Paul would be next.
One unnamed New Hampshire Republican told the Beltway publication that Paul’s “campaign (reeks) of the same stench of death that surrounded the Perry and Walker efforts before their demise.”
The day after Paul announced his presidential campaign in April, the senator told reporters in New Hampshire that winning the Granite State was crucial to his chances of winning the nomination.
“I will say that I think New Hampshire is incredibly important to me,” Paul said. “We will try very hard. We are going to do everything to win in New Hampshire. I do think we do need to win New Hampshire.”
But the summer months were not kind to Paul, in New Hampshire or elsewhere.
In a poll conducted in June for CNN and WMUR in Manchester, N.H., Paul was polling at 9 percent, with 43 percent of New Hampshire voters holding a favorable opinion of him and 32 percent an unfavorable opinion.
On Thursday, the same poll showed Paul slipping to 3 percent support, with 48 percent of respondents holding an unfavorable view and 31 percent favorable.
He hasn’t fared any better in national polls, with a RealClearPolitics average showing the senator at 2.3 percent.
It has been death by a thousand cuts for Paul’s campaign: reports of staff infighting, the federal indictments of two longtime aides, lackluster fundraising, the improbable and unpredictable rise of Donald Trump, and a Republican Party that appears to be returning to its roots on foreign policy.
Next week, we might just learn how much longer Paul can keep going.
The third-quarter fundraising period ends Wednesday, and one of the biggest questions will be whether Paul has raised enough money to continue his quest.
Paul’s campaign has spent the last few days feverishly sending fundraising emails, begging for contributions to keep Paul’s leaky ship afloat.
“This is the most important deadline I will face as a candidate,” Paul wrote in one recent fundraising plea.
The senator’s first fundraising report this summer fell well short of expectations and the reports of other candidates, and his super PACs have not registered big numbers.
Paul did enjoy one victory recently, winning the straw poll at the Mackinac Island Republican Leadership Conference, but the win was largely obscured by the strong debate performances of former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
Then on Thursday, Paul was embarrassed at home as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush beat the Kentucky senator to the punch by becoming the first presidential candidate to file his paperwork and deliver his $15,000 filing fee for Kentucky’s 2016 presidential caucuses.
Paul fought long and hard to persuade the state party to adopt the caucus method of selecting a nominee, ponying up $250,000 to help defray the cost.
That Bush made it onto the caucus ballot before Paul again raised questions about the senator’s organizational strengths.
The chatter nationally is that Paul is being pressured to drop out and focus on re-election to his U.S. Senate seat in 2016, but that is hardly a new development. Some Kentucky Republicans have long worried about Paul’s risky plan to pursue both offices at once.
Still, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, facing a daunting 2016 election map to keep his newfound majority, has given zero indication that he is pressuring Paul to drop out of the presidential race.
And even if McConnell did ask Paul to get out of the presidential race, there is no reason to think Paul would heed that advice.
While campaigning in Alaska in late August, Paul told reporters he was broadening his early-state focus to include Western states, declaring that he was in the race for “the long haul.”
But those kinds of declarations can be, as Paul knows, unlucky.
It's not that daunting. And I can't see losing Rand's seat unless there is some kind of F up with this dual running and he's tossed off ballot.
Yes. He should quit. His campaign I would call a joke but joke are supposed to be funny.
Good riddance to the McConnell loving amnesty pimp.
See the 8 people who've endorsed Rand Paul for President: https://t.co/iafYnUfblJ— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 27, 2015
One hundred and ninety two thousand? That’s next to nothing!
and 84 cents.
I don’t know Rand Paul. But I am not excited about how he conducts himself in the Senate. He is a libertarian which is like being a liberal on social issues and perhaps somewhat conservative on fiscal issues. He misses a lot of votes in the Senate. He seems to do so based on how it will impact his image as a senator. He will vote “yes” on bills that conservatives support but have no chance of passing and he will be absent on bills conservatives support that he feels are too controversial for his chances of reelection. Yes, I have painted with a broad brush but Rand did not fall too far from the tree that is Ron. I used to be a Rand Paul fan about 6 or 7 yrs. ago just like I used to be a Marco Rubio fan about 6 or 7 yrs. ago. Time and experience have changed my mind about both. Stay in the Senate Rand. You are not ready to lead this nation at a time of its great crisis.
Randy, we hardly knew ye.
the guy needs to go back to being a doctor - opthamologist and get out of serving in any capacity as a politician. if he wants to serve the people in Kentucky - become a dog catcher - animal control officer!
Kind of sad the way Rands run is going. So much potential.
Just as with Scott Walker, now is not his time. Both can try again without looking self deluded like our pals Huckabee, Santorum and Graham. Christie may have missed his best chance at grabbing the brass ring of nomination. 2012 would have been his year had he taken it. Now, we know too much about him and his managing style.
He needs a man’s haircut. Looks like a fool.
I’m fine with Rand—in the Senate. He does bring up some good issues like the governmental abuse, the WOD, and the Federal Reserve that nobody else does. For President, not so much.
Is Rand Paul still IN?
I thought Lindsey Graham and Chris Christie were far worse than Paul?
Another “Lightweight” bites the dust.
After Paul, say good bye to Rubio.
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