Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky says he doesn’t really think the White House can be bought, touting support among small donors as one measure of power.
“I don’t really think you can buy the presidency,” Mr. Paul told radio host Laura Ingraham this week when asked about the fundraising prowess of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, potentially one of Mr. Paul’s chief Republican rivals for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.
“I think that money is an advantage, but the other thing we have is we have millions of small donors, 5 and 10 dollars,” Mr. Paul said. “When I ran for the Senate, I had one supporter who sent me $13 out of every check every two weeks for two years.”
“And so there’s a great deal of power in having small donors and having lots of them,” he said. “You also have to have something popular to say, and I think if I were on the Bush team, I’d be quite worried that with all that name recognition and all that money, that it looks like he’s right in the middle of the pack — not necessarily leading the pack.”
“And to rise and to get more people to support you, you have to champion ideas that resonate with the conservative base, and that does not seem to be their strategy, so far,” he said.
Mr. Bush — who has not officially declared his candidacy — has defended his comparatively moderate positions on immigration and education as he travels the country, but he has also spoken out, for example, against President Obama’s executive actions on immigration that the president announced in November.
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• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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