Rand Paul hires campaign manager, begins 2016 push

Not to be forgotten amid the Jeb Bush/Mitt Romney palooza happening in the world of presidential politics, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has begun assembling his 2016 team. Paul had been holding the top spot in many primary polls during the last quarter of 2014 but his numbers have dropped in the last two months.

Report from Fox News:

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has hired a campaign manager in preparation for a possible White House bid in 2016, according to a published report.

The Washington Post reported late Tuesday that Paul had announced the hiring of Chip Englander, who most recently oversaw Bruce Rauner’s successful campaign for Illinois governor. Citing people familiar with the hire, the paper reported that Englander would officially hold the title of senior adviser at Paul’s political action committee. However, those people also said that the 33-year-old Englander had been assured that he will take over operation of the campaign once Paul talks the matter out with his family.

“America has intractable problems and it’s going to take a transformational leader to fix them,” Englander told the Post. “Senator Paul is going to be the bold, transformational figure in this race.

Also, here’s a story from Politico on the way Paul is positioning himself against the other candidates:

Jeb Bush is “a Big Government Republican.” Mitt Romney “had his chance.” And Marco Rubio’s recent jabs on foreign policy are “silly” and “childish.”

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is back in insurgent mode, lobbing bombs at his potential Republican presidential rivals and looking to take back a political spotlight that Bush and Romney have been hogging lately. Paul is also heading to New Hampshire and Nevada this week, hoping to strike a fire with voters who want a new voice to carry the GOP’s message to the White House.

“You need a candidate who reaches out to new constituencies and is able to bring new people into the party,” Paul said. “Because if we do the same old, same old candidates, we are going to get the same old result.”

Rand was also asked if his father, Ron Paul, would join him on the campaign trail in 2016:

Indeed, in the interview, Paul flatly said, “No,” when asked if his father would join him on the campaign trail should he run.

“It’s just I need to represent the ideas and present ideas, because if I were to run, obviously it’s me running,” he added.

If I was Rand Paul, I might not be too disappointed that Romney is also entering the race. If there is a melee between the establishment candidates, it may split the field and allow for a non-establishment candidate to emerge.