Paul, reacting to Cruz, talks 'winnability'

Rand Paul on Monday, in his first extensive comments since Ted Cruz officially announced his presidential candidacy, made the case that he’s the electable Republican candidate.

The Kentucky senator, hours after his Senate colleague jumped into the presidential race, suggested his more inclusive vision for the Republican Party makes him a more appealing general-election candidate.


“Ted Cruz is a conservative. But it also goes to winnability,” Paul said on Fox News’ “The Kelly File.”

The senator said that he didn’t watch much of Cruz’s Monday morning announcement and declined to take any major jabs at his likely rival. But he did suggest on several occasions that the party needs to do more than throw out “red meat” to its supporters and rally the conservative base — an apparent attempt to differentiate himself from Cruz, a darling of the conservative wing but a polarizing national figure.

“We kind of come from the same wing of the party. And if you look at our voting records, you’ll find we’re very, very similar,” Paul said. “I guess what makes us different is probably our approach as to how we would make the party bigger. And I’m a big believer that you should stand on principle and be true to your principles, but I also think that we should take those principles and try to bring in new people with them.”

Paul, all but certain to announce his presidential candidacy in two weeks’ time, touted polling data showing him doing well against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, in swing states and among independent voters. And he made reference to his outreach to the African-American community in Ferguson, at the NAACP and elsewhere — outreach he has said is necessary for the GOP to expand its base and win national elections.

“I’m the only one that beats Hillary Clinton in certain purple states. I’m the only one that also scores above all the other Republicans in whether or not I can beat her,” he said.

Cruz on Monday became the first official presidential candidate in the 2016 cycle, announcing his bid first with a tweet and then in a 25-minute speech at Virginia’s Liberty University, the world’s largest Christian university. The speech, peppered with religious imagery, was aimed squarely at the conservative wing as Cruz vies to become the base’s preferred alternative to establishment front-runner Jeb Bush.

Paul is expected to announce his candidacy on April 7 in Louisville, after which he will visit the first four presidential nominating states in four days: New Hampshire the day after, followed by South Carolina, Iowa and Nevada.

Asked about several apparent Paul supporters in the audience at Cruz’s speech, Paul smiled but said his team wasn’t responsible.

“Some of those who were required wanted to make sure that just by having to be there, they weren’t expressing their support” for Cruz, Paul said, noting that appearance at the event was mandatory for Liberty University students. “But we were glad to see them there and organized and excited about the possibility of me running.”

Paul and Cruz, who are both angling for the anti-establishment and libertarian factions of the GOP, have frequently sparred through the media. Though they both supported each other on filibusters against Obama administration drone policy and the Affordable Care Act, they have publicly disagreed particularly on foreign policy, as Cruz has pegged Paul as being too reluctant on military intervention. Paul has also taken implicit swipes at Cruz for criticizing fellow Republicans, behavior which has earned the Texas senator scorn from several congressional Republicans.

Paul — who often uses his strong social media presence to troll his rivals — asked his followers to retweet “Stand With Rand” messages just minutes after Cruz finished his speech Monday morning.