Rand Paul isn’t worried about the ‘loosey-goosey’ polls that show him far behind
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks to voters at the Heritage Action Presidential Candidate Forum in September. (Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Rand Paul really wants to talk about the budget deal that’s set to pass in Congress this week, but at the moment, it’s not clear anyone is listening.
Paul is heading into Wednesday night’s Republican debate at the University of Colorado in Boulder in eighth place, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. However, Paul said he’s not too concerned with the numbers.
“I think that the polls are very loose — loosey-goosey in a way, because we’re polling undecided people, three-fourths of every poll is undecided,” Paul told Yahoo News after holding a roundtable with a group of the university’s students.
Paul went on to criticize the press for focusing on early primary polling.
“Not to be critical of the media, but I will. The media doesn’t quite understand what these polls represent. They’re a moment in time of uncommitted voters. Three-fourths of everyone in these polls are uncommitted, have not made a final decision,” Paul explained. “So we’re asking them, ‘Well, who would you support now?’ So there’s a wide variation, and there will be wide fluctuation through January. It’s been that way ever since presidential campaigns began polling.”
Paul said that he’s satisfied with his current standing in the GOP presidential primary field.
“We think that we’re right in the middle of the mix and we plan on being there in the end,” he said.
When asked how he hopes to break through in tonight’s debate, he responded that he plans to highlight his opposition to the budget deal to show voters he’s the “only true fiscal conservative” among the leading Republican presidential candidates.
“Nobody can really predict when someone will break through and all of a sudden everybody loves your message,” said Paul. “I continue to put forth the same message I have since I ran for office, that we’re borrowing way too much, a million dollars a minute.”
The senator repeatedly cited support for the budget proposal, which would increase spending and prevent any government shutdowns until after the 2016 election, as an example of other GOP hopefuls shying away from the party’s core principles. He called the budget deal a “disaster” and “the worst piece of legislation I’ve seen since I’ve been in Congress.”
“I can’t overstate how bad this deal is and what it is, destroying the very understanding of Republicans even being conservative,” Paul explained. “We’re going to bust the caps for military spending, we’re going to bust the caps for welfare spending, and we’re going to give to the president unlimited authority to borrow money through March 2017.”
While Paul may dispute the significance of early primary polling, there’s no question poor numbers can affect the ability to raise money. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, for example, has recently been forced to cut staff and budget for his campaign amid underwhelming poll performance and lower than expected donations.
Yahoo News asked Paul whether he is confident he’ll have the resources to stay in the race if his numbers don’t improve. Paul once again expressed faith in his conservative principles to see him through.
“We’re very, very conservative with taxpayer money and with donor money. And so we have been from the very beginning,” Paul said. “We have $2 million in the bank and we plan on keeping that money in the bank and then spending it as needed when we’re ready to go on TV. … We’re very, very frugal with our money and we have plenty of money to make it through.”
