CEDAR RAPIDS — GOP presidential candidate and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was in Cedar Rapids on Thursday looking past the deep field of Republican contenders to the general election.

Paul, 52, an ophthalmologist before taking office in 2011, is vying for the nomination among 16 announced or likely contenders.

He said he stands the best chance to beat Democratic front-runner and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a head-to-head match up.

“Everybody is consumed with the Republican primary in Iowa,” Paul said to a crowd of about 150 at the Cedar Rapids Public Library. “I am thinking about the general election. Who can beat Hillary Clinton? Right now I am the only one ahead of Hillary Clinton in Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado, West Virginia.”

Paul was on an eight-stop, two-day meet and greet tour of Iowa on Wednesday and Thursday.

In polling date, Paul is tied with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee for fifth place in the Republican field, with 8 percent support, according to poll aggregator Real Clear Politics. Head-to-head, Paul fairs the best among GOP candidates against Clinton, but would still lose, according to Real Clear Politics.

Paul said what sets him apart from the field is championing “liberty issues,” which draws younger voters, he said. At the same time, he supports the core Republican principles, such as low taxes, small government, less regulation and balanced budgets.

“The Fourth Amendment, the right to privacy, brings out some of these young people,” Paul said. “It brings out college campuses. It allows me to go to Liberty University, Jerry Falwell’s university, and (University of California) Berkeley, one the most liberal universities, and get a standing ovation and get applause for the right to be left alone.”

Paul said this strategy of going after a new constituency is “the way you win elections,” and notes he is leading Hillary Clinton among independent voters “across the board.”

A number of young adults were among the crowd in Cedar Rapids.

Sonia Elossais, 19, a Cedar Rapids Washington graduate who now attends Coe College, said she like what she’s heard from Paul, along with former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Paul’s opposition to government surveillance is a draw, and she applauded his 10-hour filibuster of the National Security Agency surveillance programs authorized under the Patriot Act.

“I am still pretty undecided,” Elossais said while waiting on line to get a picture with Paul. “Socially I am super liberal, but fiscally I am very conservative. I support limited government.”

During his 30 minute speech, Paul also touched on his flat tax plan.

He wants to repeal the IRS tax code as part of a $2 trillion tax cut and replace it with a flat tax of 14.5 percent on businesses and individuals.

Paul said while wealthier Americans would save more money, his plan would also help the working class.

Paul is proposing rolling the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, or FICA, into the business tax. For those making $40,000 a year or less and paying $2,000 a year into FICA, which supports Social Security and Medicare, the tax would be absorbed by the business not the individual.

“Tax cuts are always bigger for the person who makes more, but you want the money in your community,” Paul said. “Have you ever worked for a poor person? We want the money with the business people.”