× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

CEDAR FALLS | Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul made the case Saturday night he’s the candidate who can best attract new people to the polls, not just for Monday’s caucus but in November.

“I think you need a candidate that excites Republicans but that also welcomes new people into the party. I think we need a bigger, better, bolder party,” Paul told a crowd of more than 200 at the University of Northern Iowa’s Maucker Union.

Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky, said the GOP can attract new people without sacrificing its core principles of balanced budgets, lower taxes and fewer regulations.

“We need to compete for every vote in America, from the south side of Chicago to downtown Houston to rural Kentucky.” Paul said at the end of his 20-minute speech. “I’m going to do it, and I hope you’ll be there with me.”

Paul and his supporters made clear they aren’t worried about polls that show him near the middle of the pack just days before the first-in-the-nation caucuses Monday night.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced Paul.