Recent polling suggests that Rand Paul's quest for the presidency is in deep shit, especially in Iowa.
Paul now sits just ninth in the first-caucus state of Iowa, according to an average of three polls of the state that have been released this week. One of those polls, from Suffolk University, showed his support plunging to just 2% of likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa. That put him behind such candidates as Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), who has been diverting most of his early-state resources to New Hampshire.
This is the state that his Daddy did well in. Oh, I forgot. Ron Paul's 2012 Presidential campaign
paid for that success, literally.
But Rand's pitiful performance on the stump appears to be doing a lot of damage to his presidential hopes too.
A Public Policy Polling survey released this week showed Rand Paul with the worst net-favorability rating among all GOP candidates. His standing in Iowa has plunged from 10% in April to just 3% now.
"The biggest loser in the poll is Rand Paul," PPP director Tom Jensen wrote. "Paul's been foundering anyway, and his campaign's ties to the Kent Sorenson mess are probably making things particularly bad for him in Iowa."
Now, normally, how a campaign is doing in August has no real bearing on how they will do next year when the caucus actually is under way. And Paul's supporters will make that point. However, Paul has another little obstacle to his ambitions: Kentucky election laws. To wit, he has to find a way to run for president and the U.S. Senate at the same time when Kentucky says you can only appear once on the ballot come November.
But our brilliant Rand has a plan. He has tentatively persuaded the Kentucky Republican Party to hold a separate presidential CAUCUS in March of next year instead of the May PRIMARY. The idea seems to be that Rand will win the caucus and still get to run for the Senate. The details of all of this have not been completely hammered out as far as I can tell, but it keeps Rand's political options open.
Or it at least it did until Kentucky state Republicans started looking at the bill for the caucus and who will pay for it. Seems that Kentucky Republicans are not entirely sure that Rand will pick up the tab for this idea of his, and they are having a vote about Rand's scheme this coming Saturday. Before the advent of Trump, Rand could probably convince Kentucky Republicans to rubber stamp his scheme.
But those days are past it seems.
Kentucky Republicans not only want assurances from Rand that his campaign will pick up the tab for his scheme, but they want to know what bank his money is in! Rand made the mistake of saying that he already had the money for the caucus set aside, and Kentucky Republicans want details of how much and where.
Further eroding trust is that Rand has possibly low balled the costs of the putative Republican caucus by implying that volunteers from his successful campaign will provide the leg work at the event. Kentucky Republicans appear to be more than a bit skeptical about legions of Rand volunteers cutting the costs of holding the caucus. In fact, if Saturday's meeting becomes all about the costs of this shindig, some are saying all bets are off about Rand's scheme surviving the meeting.
If the Kentucky Republican Party ditches Rand's plan, I think it will be the end of Rand's presidential campaign. I know I will be waiting to see what the establishment in Kentucky thinks of Rand's chances.