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A new poll shows Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky could defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in Ohio, if both are their party's presidential nominees.

(J. Scott Applewhite, The Associated Press)

Today's Rand Paul news: In a possible sign that President Obama's political coattails aren't long enough to help Democrat Hillary Clinton, a new Democratic poll indicates she could lose the key battleground state of Ohio big, which could derail her White House bid. The poll showed that Clinton would lose 47 percent to 40 percent to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is likely to enter the race. But that's not all. She would also lose to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, 44 percent to 41 percent, and tie Sen. Marco Rubio at 44 percent. Washington Examiner

The survey by Public Policy Polling shows Ohio Gov. John Kasich would be the first choice of Republican primary voters in his home state- more than a lot of the other GOP hopefuls can say in theirs. Kasich polls at 19% to 13% for Ben Carson and Scott Walker, 12% for Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, 9% for Paul, 6% for Mike Huckabee, 5% for Ted Cruz, and 4% for Chris Christie: Public Policy Polling

Paul's wife, Kelley, shrugged off the recent attacks on her husband from fellow Republicans -- including John McCain, who called him "the worst candidate" -- as just the "contact sport" of politics and vowed to reveal "another dimension" to Rand Paul as she hit the presidential campaign trail in New Hampshire for the first time yesterday. A former political consultant who once worked with now-GOP rival Ted Cruz, she was at first reluctant about a White House campaign, telling Vogue in 2013: "Because in this day and age it's mostly about character assassination: Boston Herald

The vehemence of attacks his Senate colleagues make on Paul could lead one to conclude he's at least as unpopular among his fellow senators as Cruz, who challenges the will and tactics of his colleagues, while Paul challenges the merits of the policies to which they are so firmly wedded. Whether Paul would make a great president is beside the point; his views fall squarely within what until recently most Republican and independent analysts would describe as the conservative mainstream. The Washington Times

Paul will be in California this weekend to deliver a speech before local activists and elected officials this Saturday at the Republican Party of San Diego County's Lincoln-Reagan Dinner: San Diego Union-Tribune

On Friday, he will speak at the yearly fundraising dinner for the Orange County Republican Party in Irvine: