{"id":11727,"date":"2016-01-21T14:54:42","date_gmt":"2016-01-21T19:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/?p=11727"},"modified":"2016-01-21T14:54:42","modified_gmt":"2016-01-21T19:54:42","slug":"will-rand-paul-surprise-in-iowa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2016\/01\/21\/will-rand-paul-surprise-in-iowa\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Rand Paul surprise in Iowa?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Iowa caucus is less than two weeks away and Rand Paul\u2019s team is organizing under the radar.<\/p>\n

While Donald Trump and Ted Cruz duke it out over ethanol subsidies<\/a> and the definition of birthright citizenship<\/a>, Paul\u2019s Iowa campaign has appointed 1,000 precinct captains<\/a> and claims to have made an astounding 500,000 get-out-the-vote calls.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are feats that have been unheralded by the media,\u201d said Paul, noting his supporters\u2019 on-the-ground organizing and his well-attended campaign events.<\/p>\n

Paul explained that Iowa has approximately 1,600 precincts and that his campaign has appointed captains in over two-thirds of them. \u201cWhat outsiders don\u2019t realize is that some people show up and aren\u2019t sure who they\u2019re supporting. They can be convinced by the captains who stand up and speak in their precincts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paul also noted that captains help recruit others and bring them to the caucus. \u201cI think we\u2019re in a good position to turn our people out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Paul, several of his rival candidates lack an operation with the same level of sophistication. \u201cTrump is just starting to get a ground game but it\u2019s yet to be seen,\u201d said Paul, noting that Trump holds large rallies, but that it\u2019s not clear he\u2019s teaching people to caucus.<\/p>\n

Paul also said that he\u2019s seen very little organizing from Rubio\u2019s campaign in Iowa.<\/p>\n

Another factor that could give Paul an edge is his reliance on a secret weapon other candidates have overlooked: The youth vote. \u201cWe have 22 college campuses organized,\u201d said Paul, \u201cAnd we\u2019re having a rally at Iowa State University just preceding the caucus.\u201d Paul said the rally will serve as a launching point for students who will then travel to the caucus.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your goal is to capture the youth vote, it\u2019s easier when you have people organizing each dorm and hallway. It\u2019s also easier to get people out when they\u2019re all in one location,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n

Paul has also been drawing sizable crowds. \u201cIn Iowa and New Hampshire our Students for Rand rallies average anywhere from 300 to almost a thousand,\u201d said Paul\u2019s Creative Director Marianne Copenhaver. \u201cOur town hall events have almost all had standing room only crowds, averaging around 300 people each,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy live streaming almost every rally on Facebook and Twitter\u201d Copenhaver said, \u201cwe\u2019ve been able to reach about 40 thousand people online during each broadcast.\u201d \u201cThe crowds, in person and online, are enthusiastic, she said. \u201cMost everyone seems genuinely appreciative to hear a candidate actually discuss policy specifics and answer tough questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a stark contrast for the people who have seen other candidates in person,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

In addition to the groundwork Paul\u2019s campaign has laid, they\u2019re getting an indirect assist from Concerned American Voters, a Super PAC backing him<\/a> that has made 1.1 million voter contacts, and raised $3 million last fundraising quarter.<\/p>\n

The group recently released a video compilation showcasing Paul\u2019s conservative bonafides aimed at an Iowa audience in addition to several shorter ads<\/a> that they\u2019ve produced.<\/p>\n

Source: <\/span>Will Rand Paul surprise in Iowa? \u2013 Rare<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Iowa caucus is less than two weeks away and Rand Paul\u2019s 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\u2019s 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. \u201cThese are feats that have been unheralded by the media,\u201d said Paul, noting his supporters\u2019 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. \u201cWhat outsiders don\u2019t realize is that some people show up and aren\u2019t sure who they\u2019re supporting. They can be convinced by the captains who stand up and speak in their precincts,\u201d he said.   Paul also noted that captains help recruit others and bring them to the caucus. \u201cI think we\u2019re in a good position to turn our people out,\u201d he said. According to Paul, several of his rival candidates lack an operation with the same level of sophistication. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[914,1425],"class_list":["post-11727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-politics","tag-iowa","tag-rand-paul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}