Getty Rand Paul rolls out caucus state endorsements

Sen. Rand Paul's 2016 presidential campaign is rolling out a set of endorsements from state legislators in caucus states on Thursday, POLITICO has learned.

The move underscores Paul's effort to turnaruond lackluster polling and stay competitive in the presidential race by focusing more on caucus states. The hope is that Paul's push to win over delegates now will open a pathway that other campaigns ignore as they tear each other apart jockeying for placement in the earliest primary states. So over the past month or so, Paul has made a concerted push to campaign harder in caucus states like Maine, Washington, Wyoming, and Utah.


As part of that push, Paul has secured the endorsements of a number of state lawmakers in those states. The announcement on Thursday includes endorsements in Nevada, Minnesota, Kansas, and Utah. In Nevada, Assemblywoman Shelly Shelton, Assemblyman John Moore are backing Paul. In Minnesota, it's state Sen. Roger Chamberlain, state Sen. Brendan Peterson, Minnesota Republican Liberty Caucus Chairman Neil Lynch. In Kansas, it's state Rep. Brett Hildabrand. And in Utah, state Sen. Mark Madsen, state Rep. Jacob Anderegg, and Utah County Commissioner Bill Lee are all backing Paul.

Paul's campaign advisers say they're particularly optimistic about picking up more endorsements in Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, and Nevada. More endorsements in Utah and Wyoming are also in the pipeline, a Paul aide said. The campaign also hopes that its efforts to organize Paul chapters on college campuses will pay off in caucus states.

The endorsements come a day after CNBC announced its criteria for the next Republican presidential debate on Oct. 28 — which look like trouble for Paul. The RealClearPolitics averages finds Paul with a 2.3 percent average in national polls, but under the average CNBC is using for the debate, he's polling at 2.8 percent which, because of the rounding rule, puts him over the threshold to qualify for the main debate.

"We feel really confident that we're going to make the next debate," Michael Biundo, the Paul campaign's chief strategist for New England, said.