Rand Paul jabs at Ted Cruz's 'winnability'

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

Rand Paul wasted no time taking on Ted Cruz, questioning the Texas senator's "winnability" and appeal to a broad cross-section of voters.

In a Fox News interview hours after Cruz officially declared his presidential candidacy, Paul made clear he'll fight his colleague about who can best put together a winning coalition for both the GOP nomination and the general election.

"I guess what makes us different is probably our approach as to how we would make the party bigger," Paul told Megyn Kelly of Fox News. "And I'm a big believer that you should stand on principle and be true to your principles, but I also think we should take those principles and try to bring in new people with them."

Paul, a Kentucky senator expected to announce his presidential bid on April 7, said that means "maybe not just throwing out red meat but actually throwing out something intellectually enticing to people who haven't been listening to our message before."

Cruz, in his own Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, said he believes he's the best Republican to grow the party and end the GOP's back-to-back losses for the White House.

"The only way to win is to bring back to the polls the millions of conservatives who have been staying home. The millions of Christians, the millions of Reagan Democrats who have been staying home," Cruz told Sean Hannity. "As I look at the field, I see a lot of good people who I like, who I respect. But I don't see … a whole lot of candidates who I think can energize and mobilize the conservatives who stayed home in '08 and '12."

If the GOP fails in bringing back voters who previously sided with them, Cruz said that means "Hillary Clinton is the next president."

A recent CNN/ORC poll showed Clinton has at least a 10-point lead over GOP candidates with Paul coming closest. The survey showed Clinton, who is expected to announce her candidacy soon for the Democratic nomination, with a 54%-43% lead over Paul in a hypothetical matchup. (The survey did not test how Cruz would do against Clinton.)

As Paul noted in his Fox News interview, he and Cruz come from the same wing of the GOP and were both elected to the Senate with Tea Party support.

"Ted Cruz is a conservative, but it also goes to winnability," Paul said. "And people will have to make a decision, which is the Republican who can not only excite the base but also bring new people into the party without giving up their principles."