Megalextoria

Paul adviser Steve Grubbs, who is heading up his Iowa operation, recently spoke about it toBreitbart news:

“Seventeen to twenty-seven thousand votes is win, place or show” Paul’s top Iowa adviser Steve Grubbs told Breitbart News, coming off a rally attended by 150 Iowans. Grubbs is the former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party. He previously led Bob Dole and Steve Forbes to great success in the Iowa caucus. Now he’s working at the top of Rand PAC.

“We have 1,019 precinct campaigns in every corner of the state,” Grubbs said. “He’s peaking at just the right time. Four years ago, Rick Santorum was in last place 23 days out. He rose to win it. There’s been a lot of movement here in the last three weeks. If you want to be in the right place at the right time, you need to have the ground game ready to go.”

“For the first time since 2000, the caucus will occur while college is in session,” Grubbs said. “We have campus organizations at more than twenty University of Iowa colleges and universities.

“They’ll register at the caucus,” Grubbs said of his younger libertarian-minded voters. “It’s better to register the day of the caucus. If you register January 10 at your local county auditor, then they’ll pull the punch list on caucus day and your name won’t be there. Because they’re just using the most recent list they have from the state of Iowa, and that’s a government! How often do they refresh? Then if your name isn’t there, there’s a challenged ballot.”

Paul himself recently pointed out that the campaign has a goal of turning out 10,000 college students:

In an interview with PBS NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill on Thursday, the Kentucky Republican said that his campaign has a “real shot” of reaching its goal to draw 10,000 students to the polls next month — an ambitious goal for any GOP candidate, including the current front-runners, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and real estate developer Donald Trump.

The campaign is targeting students “on campus, really trying to organize dorm by dorm,” Paul said. “We have a really good ground game.”

Paul said his campaign has placed 500,000 phone calls to voters across Iowa and has 1,000 precinct chairs in the state, more than any of his GOP rivals, with two weeks to go before voting begins.

Note: Since Paul’s interview a few days ago, the campaign has reached 700,000 phone callsand has a goal of 1 million.

Paul has some strong outside help that adds yet another layer to his impressive organization. PurplePac reserved $500,000 in ads for him earlier this month. But perhaps more impressive have been the efforts of Concerned American Voters, lead by Matt Kibbe (formerly of FreedomWorks) and Young Americans for Liberty President Jeff Frazee. CAV has had at least40 full-time, paid staffers since it started in June.

Frazee recently gave an update on the notable progress his PAC has made:

“We’re waiting for Rand to catch fire,” Frazee said. “If that happens in Iowa, there are millions of dollars sitting on the sidelines, waiting for him.”

Concerned American Voters got off the ground in June, and since then it has made 1.1 million voter contacts in Iowa to identify 37,352 likely caucus goers. They’ve been marked as certain to support, likely to support, or maybe to support Paul.

Overall, the Paul organization-both the campaign and outside support-is extremely impressive. And the goal of forging a winning coalition cannot be understated.

Though Paul has focused heavily on the college vote, he hasn’t neglected rural areas of the state. While some candidates such as Donald Trump have taken to pandering on ethanol mandates, Paul has been emphasizing his strong opposition to eminent domain:

He spoke to a crowd of about 80 in Oskaloosa at an event billed as an eminent domain town hall. The Kentucky senator said while he is in favor of creating energy independence by building domestic pipelines, he is opposed to any land being taken from private property owners without proper compensation.

“One of the worst powers, one of the most egregious powers you can give a government is the power to take your property,” he said. “And we have a government that’s grown too large in this sense.”

Paul said while he supported the Keystone XL pipeline, he said he voted against a bill that would allow the use of eminent domain to gain easements.

Source: Youth for Rand Paul — Rand Paul Poised to Stage Massive Upset in Iowa

The Iowa caucus is less than two weeks away and Rand Paul’s team is organizing under the radar.

While Donald Trump and Ted Cruz duke it out over ethanol subsidies and the definition of birthright citizenship, Paul’s Iowa campaign has appointed 1,000 precinct captains and claims to have made an astounding 500,000 get-out-the-vote calls.

Rare spoke with Senator Paul about his campaign efforts and why he believes his showing in the Iowa Caucus might shock those who underestimate him.

“These are feats that have been unheralded by the media,” said Paul, noting his supporters’ on-the-ground organizing and his well-attended campaign events.

Paul explained that Iowa has approximately 1,600 precincts and that his campaign has appointed captains in over two-thirds of them. “What outsiders don’t realize is that some people show up and aren’t sure who they’re supporting. They can be convinced by the captains who stand up and speak in their precincts,” he said.

 

Paul also noted that captains help recruit others and bring them to the caucus. “I think we’re in a good position to turn our people out,” he said.

According to Paul, several of his rival candidates lack an operation with the same level of sophistication. “Trump is just starting to get a ground game but it’s yet to be seen,” said Paul, noting that Trump holds large rallies, but that it’s not clear he’s teaching people to caucus.

Paul also said that he’s seen very little organizing from Rubio’s campaign in Iowa.

Another factor that could give Paul an edge is his reliance on a secret weapon other candidates have overlooked: The youth vote. “We have 22 college campuses organized,” said Paul, “And we’re having a rally at Iowa State University just preceding the caucus.” Paul said the rally will serve as a launching point for students who will then travel to the caucus.

Paul told Rare that this is a unique opportunity because most Iowa caucuses, including 2008 and 2012 when his father Ron Paul was a candidate, took place while students were off-campus for Christmas break.

“If your goal is to capture the youth vote, it’s easier when you have people organizing each dorm and hallway. It’s also easier to get people out when they’re all in one location,” Paul said.

Paul has also been drawing sizable crowds. “In Iowa and New Hampshire our Students for Rand rallies average anywhere from 300 to almost a thousand,” said Paul’s Creative Director Marianne Copenhaver. “Our town hall events have almost all had standing room only crowds, averaging around 300 people each,” she added.

“By live streaming almost every rally on Facebook and Twitter” Copenhaver said, “we’ve been able to reach about 40 thousand people online during each broadcast.” “The crowds, in person and online, are enthusiastic, she said. “Most everyone seems genuinely appreciative to hear a candidate actually discuss policy specifics and answer tough questions.”

“It’s a stark contrast for the people who have seen other candidates in person,” she added.

In addition to the groundwork Paul’s campaign has laid, they’re getting an indirect assist from Concerned American Voters, a Super PAC backing him that has made 1.1 million voter contacts, and raised $3 million last fundraising quarter.

The group recently released a video compilation showcasing Paul’s conservative bonafides aimed at an Iowa audience in addition to several shorter ads that they’ve produced.

Source: Will Rand Paul surprise in Iowa? – Rare