Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul suspended his presidential campaign Wednesday morning following a disappointing finish in the Iowa Caucuses. Paul placed fifth garnering just 4.5% of the vote behind US Sen. Ted Cruz (27.7%), Donald Trump (24.3%), US Sen. Marco Rubio (23.1%), and Dr. Ben Carson (9.3%). Despite a continued effort to not only preserve, but to expand his father’s coalition, Paul received less caucus votes than former US Rep. Ron Paul did in 2008 (10%) and 2012 (21%).
As the candidates turn their attention to New Hampshire, which holds its primary on Tuesday, Paul faced the possibility of an even more disappointing finish. Currently, the RealClearPolitics Average of the most recent state polls has him in ninth place with 2.8%, besting two candidates who have already suspended their campaigns - former Governor Mike Huckabee and former US Sen. Rick Santorum.
Simply put, Trump’s presence as a loud, anti-establishment outsider in the race and front-and-center national security issues on the nightly news proved to be major factors the Paul campaign failed to overcome.
Paul will now head home to prepare for his 2016 Senate re-election. Without a top-tier Democratic candidate in this Kentucky race, he is expected to easily win this November.
For more information, please contact David Ashinoff at ashinoffd@agc.org or (202) 547-5013.