5 Reasons Rand Paul Is Well Positioned To Win The Michigan GOP Primary-Then Compete With Hillary

Sen. Rand Paul, right. appears in Detroit w/ former MIGOP Chair Bobby Schostak, left, and Wayne Bradley, center

By Brandon Hall
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)


Kentucky Senator Rand Paul announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President with a roaring speech in Louisville yesterday. Paul joins Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as the official GOP candidates, with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio expected to announce next Monday in Miami.

Here are 5 Reasons Rand Paul Is Well Positioned To Win The Michigan Primary-Then Compete With Hillary:

1. One of Paul's top strategists is West Michigan's John Yob. Yob orchestrated Gov. Snyder's 2010 victory among many others wins he's racked up in Michigan and across the nation.

Yob knows the game well-he is arguably the best consultant in the state, and on the short list nationally for sure. Yob's backing is a big boost for Paul. Yob's official title is National Political Director of RandPAC, Paul's Political Action Committee.

2.The infrastructure in place for Rand from his father Ron Paul's campaign is as impressive as it is important. Aside from average voters who voted for the elder Paul, organizations like Campaign For Liberty (50,000 strong in Michigan) and Young Americans For Liberty (on campuses statewide), though not officially allowed to support Rand, are ripe with volunteers and operatives who individually can-and will help for free, and fill staff positions. And they've learned a lot since 2012....

Also, don't believe the narrative some are promulgating that a large number of his father's supporters are not with Rand. It's absolute trash-Rand will keep almost all of them and grow that base even more.

3. Rand has already proven he can win in Michigan with grassroots and establishment support: he captured the Mackinac Straw Poll in the fall of 2013. (Gov. Snyder also won the poll in 2009 before becoming Governor the next year.)

According to Jonathon Oosting of MLive:

"Paul topped a long list of potential Republican candidates, pulling in 36 percent of the total vote -- doubling up New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who finished second at 16 percent.

The straw poll, conducted by Gongwer News Service and Decider Strategies over the three-day weekend, is a non-scientific measure of preference. Roughly 1,500 Republicans, mostly from Michigan, attended this year's conference, with 526 voting in the presidential straw poll.

Paul's strong showing indicates that he has ability to appeal to both grassroots activists and traditional Republicans, according to Stu Sandler, president and CEO of Decider Strategies.

"He's building some organization in early states, and it's paying off," Sandler said. "He's done a good job in trying to bring different factions of the Republican Party together.""

4.Sen. Paul's smart and consistent outreach in Detroit is symbolic of his efforts nationwide to court young people, blacks, Latinos, and other groups Republicans have abandoned in the past. Paul claims to be "a different kind of Republican" and he is just that-on a multitude of levels.

 Paul has visited the city and mentions Detroit in almost every interview and speech associated with his campaign so far... He touts economic freedom zones for "The D," tax changes that would inject approx. $1 billion into the battered city. Detroit may be on the rebound, but still needs a lot of work and this idea is gaining support.

5. Paul can possibly beat Hillary Clinton. According to a recent Politico article, "In Pennsylvania, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is edging out Clinton 45 percent to 44 percent. On Feb. 3, Clinton led Paul 53 percent to 34 percent." No other candidate beat Hillary in the poll.

Beating Hillary will become the NUMBER ONE issue to GOP voters by Christmas 2015. I f Rand can convince them he is capable of fighting Hillary in a way no other candidate can because of his strategic outreach efforts to new demographics among other things, Paul will be a powerful force and possibly find himself top dog in the GOP's race to replace Pres. Obama.

Beating Hillary will be no easy task-and she won't be brought down by a few emails. But Rand can take the fight right to her and beat her-the numbers this early prove it.

“Rand Paul has the unique ability to inspire conservative and libertarian Republicans while reaching out to youth and other non-traditional Republican voting groups,” Yob said in an email to The Detroit News. “That is why he consistently performs the best against Hillary Clinton in head-to-head match ups.”

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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com 

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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson