Aiming for two offices, Rand Paul asks for caucus

Trying to thread the needle of running for president and the Senate at the same time in Kentucky, Sen. Rand Paul on Saturday will make his case to state Republican officials for shifting next year's May GOP presidential primary to a March caucus.

A likely presidential contender, Paul is attempting to get around a state law that bars a candidate from appearing on a ballot more than once in most cases.

Appearing before the 54-member Republican Central Executive Committee in his hometown of Bowling Green, Paul will ask for a caucus system for selecting national convention delegates, a process that would not be governed by state law.

"There is good momentum behind the idea and there is support on the committee," said Paul spokesman Dan Bayens.

The senator's political operation is prepared to defray the costs of the caucus — estimates range from several hundred thousand dollars to under $1 million — by raising money from outside Kentucky, Bayens said.

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Kentucky Republican Party Chairman Steve Robertson has created a special 13-member panel to put together a plan for conducting a caucus. The party's executive committee members will be asked on Saturday to approve the appointment of that panel. Then on Aug. 22, the party's state central committee will decide whether to proceed with the change.

"One thing that's become increasingly clear to me is that people are open to this idea, are open to discussions about it," Robertson said. "But they don't know much about it."

Because he is chairman of the party, Robertson has not taken a position on whether there should be a caucus instead of a primary.

It's fair to say the party wants to help Paul if it can, he said.

Robertson added, however, that "it's a herculean task to put together all of the logistical moving parts of (designing a caucus) and a fair representation of a judgment as to what it might cost. That's a big chore."

In a Feb. 9 e-mail to central committee members, Paul said he was not asking for anything unusual, just a way to run for two offices at once, as Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP's vice presidential candidate, did in 2012.

"My request to you is simply to be treated equally compared to other potential candidates for the presidency. Over half of the states already allow this to occur," the senator wrote.

Paul told reporters last month a court challenge would be costly and lengthy, probably stretching beyond next year's election.

The caucus approach addresses the conflict with state law, at least for the primary season, the senator said. He said he would worry about the general election later.

The general election could be a problem for Republicans in Kentucky if Paul secures the GOP presidential nomination: state law prohibits parties from replacing candidates on the ballot after the end of the primary season unless a candidate dies, is disabled or is determined to be ineligible to hold office. Bottom line: the Kentucky GOP could end up without a Senate candidate if Paul is at the top of the ticket.

Even so, Paul has gained support from some key Kentucky Republicans — none more important than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who apparently took some persuading.

"Senator McConnell's initial reaction to the caucus proposal could best be described as respectful skepticism," the Senate GOP leader's chief of staff, Brian McGuire, said in a Feb. 24 statement, "but after a lengthy discussion of the details with Senator Paul he has become convinced that switching from a primary to a caucus is worth his support."

"Not only would it be helpful to the senator's presidential campaign but, as a one-time event paid for with funds that he'd raise, would do no damage to the state party or interfere with this year's state races," McGuire said.

Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., said a March caucus "will provide the people of Kentucky more influence in deciding the presidential nominee for the Republican Party."

May is too late because "by then, many earlier primaries in other states will have already selected a presidential nominee," the congressman said.

The March caucus could coincide with caucuses and primaries in other states, giving Kentucky a role in helping Paul at a critical time in the presidential race, said Jack Richardson IV, a member of the state GOP executive committee and former chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party.

"It will be good for the state, good for the Republican Party, and it will be good for participation," Richardson said of a March caucus.

Jim Skaggs, of Bowling Green, also an executive committee member, has been unenthusiastic about the caucus process.

He lived for a time in Iowa, where its caucuses every four years kick off the presidential campaign season. He saw caucusing Iowans at cafes and bars shouting down supporters of other candidates, so "I'm not too impressed with that type of politics," Skaggs said.

But, he added, out of respect for Paul and other elected officials, "I'm not going to blow up the party" over adoption of a caucus system.

The state party should support Paul's proposal, Skaggs said, otherwise "it would look like a backhand slap to him if you didn't at this point."

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