Rand Paul takes key step toward presidential bid

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul hasn’t officially jumped in the 2016 presidential race, but he is the first GOP contender to assemble a network in all 50 states.

The Washington Post reports he’s doing so to build a more mainstream coalition than his father had during his unsuccessful campaigns.

Rand Paul’s nationwide organization, which counts more than 200 people, includes new backers who have previously funded more traditional Republicans, along with longtime libertarian activists. Paul, of Kentucky, has also been courting Wall Street titans and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who donated to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, attending elite conclaves in Utah and elsewhere along with other GOP hopefuls.

Just today, a poll from Quinnipiac University showed that all GOP contenders trail Hillary Clinton in Virginia, a key swing state.

Paul’s national team will be responsible for taking the lead in each of their states to plan fundraisers and meet-ups in an effort to gauge where he has support and where he does not.

Via Washington Post

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