NASHUA, N.H.—He’s sliding in the polls, struggling to raise money — and now the only base he has left is starting to wobble.

Rand Paul returned to what should have been home turf on Friday when he appeared at the Republican Liberty Caucus, a gathering of libertarian activists in New Hampshire. And while he was a crowd favorite, there is an intensifying buzz around rival Ted Cruz, even from ideological purists still pining for Rand’s dad, Ron.


“Cruz is stronger, he’d have more spunk as president,” said Shirlene Van Doorne, 64, of Nashua, after the Texas senator delivered a rousing speech Friday morning, packed with libertarian themes he doesn’t often discuss. “With [Paul’s] father, it’s a different story. When he ran last time, he was more like Cruz, very strong.”

Both Cruz and Paul organized intensely for the event, which culminates in a straw poll Saturday night, and representatives for both candidates hovered around attendees with clipboards, urging them to vote. For Cruz, it’s the latest effort to encroach on Paul’s turf, a move that follows the roll-out of a libertarian-stacked team that includes people who backed Ron Paul in 2012.

And according to attendees, the strategy is working.

“Based on his morning speech, I like Cruz better and better all the time,” said Bob White, the chairman of the Florida chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus. Paul is his first choice for now, he said, but “Cruz scored points with me. I’m still torn.”

That level of waffling from rank-and-file activists spells bad news for Paul, who was expected to have the libertarian base his father cultivated locked down. Certainly, the Nashua event was not a scientific measure of either candidate’s organic strength among libertarians, but it offered a snapshot of grassroots enthusiasm. And the portrait underscored Paul’s challenge in the state.

“His father was excellent, if his father was running again I’d vote for him 100 percent,” said Linda Costa, of Pelham, N.H. But she said that she and others in her Bible study are supporting Cruz.

Cruz, who enjoyed a standing ovation when he took the stage, deviated several times from his standard stump speech. He flaunted his philosophically libertarian credentials, name-dropping economists Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek, who are idolized in liberty circles. The Texas senator, who is generally hawkish on foreign policy, also stressed to the non-interventionist crowd that he doesn’t support “nation-building,” and noted that he opposed a proposal to intervene in Syria.

“The liberty movement has been integral to our campaign since Day 1, and I’m honored and humbled to have such passionate support from liberty movement activists,” Cruz told reporters. Twisting the knife, he continued, “When I ran for Senate, I was blessed to be endorsed by both Ron Paul and Rand Paul.”

Paul’s team scoffs at Cruz’s efforts. They assert that the majority of Ron Paul backers are still with Rand, and accuse the Cruz campaign of “repackaging” long-held endorsements to make their liberty roll-out last week seem bigger.

Paul, asked whether Cruz’s efforts could impact his chances, responded flatly, “no,” but also noted that he welcomed more candidates to the libertarian wing of the party.

“Both here and in Iowa we know where our support is, where my dad’s support was, and we feel comfortable that the overwhelming majority of it is with us,” he told reporters after a speech that culminated in a standing ovation and shouts of “President Paul!”

And Cruz is often out of step with true-believer libertarians who want to see reduced military intervention and much lower military spending, said state Sen. Andy Samborn, a New Hampshire chairman for Paul.

“He’s one of the several candidates who initially came out with this whole, ‘If you’re liberty, follow me because I’m liberty,’ but we’re seeing that the proof is in the pudding,” Sanborn said of Cruz. “Anyone can say they’re liberty and try to attract that vote, but when push comes to shove, Cruz has called for increased military action, he’s gone on the more hawkish side…being a hawkish type of candidate is not going to win over the liberty movement.”

But there are plenty of questions about how “liberty” Paul is too. Some gathered here at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, as well as leading libertarian figures from around the state, warn that Paul is showing signs of Scott Walker syndrome: Trying to be all things to all people, and forgetting who propelled his rise in the first place.

“I find it a little insulting that he’ll side with the libertarians when it’s convenient, but switch to adhering to party politics when it’s convenient,” complained activist Lauren Rumpler, 27, as she checked in attendees at the door.

The most egregious example of his straying from libertarian political orthodoxy, some said, was Paul’s endorsement of now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his contested primary last cycle.

“Rand attempted to make peace with Republican leadership, certainly, on the Senate side, Mitch McConnell, and it has dampened the enthusiasm of core liberty supporters that Ron Paul earned,” said Jim Rubens, a former state senator and prominent libertarian in the state, who stressed in an interview before the event that he was offering his analysis of the liberty movement, but not his personal views on Paul. (Rubens has yet to endorse, though Paul endorsed Ruben’s 2014 Senate primary opponent, Scott Brown, after the primary ended.)

Cruz’s hardline approach and attacks on McConnell have alienated him from nearly all of his Senate colleagues. Yet, while Paul might have more allies on Capitol Hill, his conciliatory approach to GOP leadership has not successfully broadened his appeal among center-right voters.

The Kentucky senator has recently been trying to correct course. In the last two debates, he has played up his libertarian bona fides, stressing his reluctance to go to war and tussling with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over his position on NSA operations.

And in his address to the crowd Friday afternoon, he railed against the Republican-dominated Congress that, in his characterization, differs little from the Congress run by Democrats. And he again emphasized his non-interventionist roots.

“Why the hell are we bombing anybody in Afghanistan?” he said to applause. “Why the hell are we there?”

It was a well-received speech to a standing-room-only crowd. And it would give Paul a boost of confidence before he later fielded questions – mostly about Cruz.