Rand Paul building a national network – some new names and some old ones in the mix

Rand Paul at CPAC 2014 / photo credit: Gage Skidmore (cc)

By Robert Costa, Published: March 27, 2014 via The Washington Post

Sen. Rand Paul has become the first Republican to assemble a network in all 50 states as a precursor to a 2016 presidential run, the latest sign that he is looking to build a more mainstream coalition than the largely ad hoc one that backed his father’s unsuccessful campaigns.

Paul’s move, which comes nearly two years before the primaries, also signals an effort to win the confidence of skeptical members of the Republican establishment, many of whom doubt that his appeal will translate beyond the libertarian base that was attracted to Ron Paul, a former Texas congressman.