Rand Paul aide licks tracker's camera

No candidate likes being hounded by opposition researchers, but one member of Rand Paul’s team has a peculiar way of expressing his distaste.

At a townhall event Monday for Rand Paul in Londonderry, New Hampshire, the Kentucky senator’s political director for the state, David Chesley, licked the camera of a tracker sent by American Bridge, a left-leaning opposition research group.


The interaction was caught on camera and quickly posted to American Bridge’s YouTube account.

“Well, he’d been standing there, trying to block the camera. That’s not uncommon, though,” explained American Bridge spokesperson Ben Ray. “Licking the camera … well, that’s new to us.”

When asked for an explanation of the camera-licking incident, Rand Paul spokesman Sergio Gor responded: “Senator Rand Paul visited New Hampshire today to accept the endorsement of twenty New Hampshire State Representatives who support his run for the White House, and to visit with and take questions from the voters of NH.”

“It was a great day of events,” Gor added, declining to mention Chesley’s apparent appetite for being on camera.