UPDATE on this exclusive: Paul hits tough resistance among GOP. Caucus system expensive, lack of participation feared.
"This letter went out this week to apparently a select group of RPK Executive Committee members.
"This letter went out this week to apparently a select group of RPK Executive Committee members.
The report I received stated that the meeting on March 7th will only be open to 55 select RPK Executive Committee members."
For many years now, there has been talk of moving up the primary vote for President in Kentucky. Republicans, myself included, have argued that our late primary makes us less relevant in the selection process and Presidential candidates never seem to campaign in Kentucky.
As most of you know, moving up Kentucky’s Presidential primary election would also allow me to make a run for the nomination and seek re-election.
Seeking both is actually quite common.
Seeking both is actually quite common.
In the last Presidential election, Paul Ryan ran for Vice President and Congress at the same time. Although we were not successful in getting a Republican in the White House in 2012, we were able to keep Paul Ryan as a Republican leader in the House of Representatives.
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.
Kentucky law currently allows us as a party to hold a GOP caucus for President on a separate date from our primary, thus allowing me to be treated the same as other potential candidates for the Presidency.
As you may have heard, you, as a member of the Kentucky Republican Central Committee, will be the one to decide if you want to help me get an equal chance at the nomination. The GOP Executive Committee will discuss creating a Presidential preference selection for 2016 at a meeting onMarch 7 in Bowling Green.
The proposal we will ask you to look at is moving the Presidential preference vote from a May primary to a March 2016 caucus.
There are several reasons for this request. First, as you may know, this idea did not originate with me, or even in this current cycle. It has been suggested by others for several cycles that Kentucky has no influence on the Presidential process because of our late Primary. By May 2016, the GOP will likely have decided its nominee, rendering our votes useless in deciding anything.
On the other hand, a March caucus would allow Kentucky Republicans to vote in the middle of the Presidential primary, when our votes will matter.
It is my honor and privilege to serve as your United States Senator. It is a job I love, that I take seriously, and that I intend to keep doing even if I decide to run for President.
When I first ran for office, I had a full time job and kept it throughout the campaign. Every day I would see my patients in my office, then campaign at night or on my days off.
My pledge to you is that I will treat my current job as seriously as I treated being a doctor while running for office in 2010. I will fulfill my duties in the Senate.
If I choose to also seek the Presidency, I will do so to serve the people of Kentucky and the ideas that I ran on and have worked for. I believe I can keep helping the people of Kentucky as Senator, but I think there is no doubt I could help them even more as President. I hope that would make Kentucky proud if I were to do so.
Changing our Presidential election requires no changes in Kentucky law. The law already states that the Republican Party may choose its date and method of election.
Changing it gives us more leverage to be relevant.
And changing it allows a Kentuckian to seek the office while also remaining as your Senator, leveling the playing field with most other states that already allow this.
There have been many questions on this from my friends, so let me answer a few of them.
1. The change being proposed would ONLY apply to the President. Congress, Senate, and other offices would remain on the May primary ballot. ABSOULTEY no other elected official or candidate would be affected by this change.
2. It requires no change in the law, and is not subject to legal challenge. The authority is clear.
3. This can be a one-time change. If the party ends up preferring to go back to a primary for whatever reason, it can do so in subsequent years. In fact, a primary would remain the default position under the law. Any change away from the primary in future years would require a new vote by party officers.
4. This prevents a costly and time-consuming legal challenge.
As you can see, the process is clear, the benefit to Kentucky is clear, and the choice affects no other office holder or candidate in Kentucky.
Because of all these facts, I ask for your support for this Party rule changeon March 7. I am here to answer your questions ahead of time if you like. Please reply to this email with any questions or concerns -- or to tell me of your support for this idea.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for serving on the Central Committee. I look forward to seeing you in Bowling Green on March 7.
Rand Paul, MD
U.S. Senator
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