When he announced his candidacy for president this week, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, made a strenuous bid for support from Christian conservatives. But one of Cruz's rivals, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is taking a different route to court the same constituency – waging an aggressive behind-the-scenes campaign rather than emphasizing a dramatic public appeal, and his aides say it will eventually pay big dividends.

For many months, Paul has been quietly meeting with scores of leaders from the Christian right to gain support for his presidential campaign, which he is expected to officially announce April 7. Some of the meetings have been held during dinner in the Senate dining room; other sessions have been in Paul's Senate office, and still others have been conducted while he traveled outside Washington.

Paul met Tuesday in Washington with Kent Ingle, the president of Southeastern University; Brian Carroll, executive vice president of Southeastern; and other officials from the Christian-oriented school located in Lakeland, Florida.

Among others with whom Paul has talked in recent months were evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne; Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas; Jerry Johnson, president of the National Religious Broadcasters Association; Daniel Kolenda, president of Christ for All Nations; Banning Liebscher, founder of the Jesus Culture ministry; and singer and Christian activist Pat Boone.

Paul sources tell me he will discuss religious issues such as faith in public life and U.S.-Israeli relations at an event for religious leaders in Washington Thursday.

Doug Wead, a friend of Paul's who has strong ties to the Christian conservative community, has been helping the senator make these connections. Asked why Paul might appeal to Christian conservatives, Wead told me that the Kentucky senator is a born-again Christian and "is seen as a candidate who can win, and Christian conservatives have come to realize that this is important." Paul "is seen as the future," Wead added. "He has organic, real support from the young, Hispanic and now African-Americans as well as liberals who care about civil liberties."

