#NCSEN: KY’s Rand Paul endorses Greg Brannon
US Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) says he hopes North Carolina will send Greg Brannon to Washington to help him, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee continue the fight against “business as usual” in the nation’s capital.
In 2010, Paul ran a grassroots underdog primary campaign for the US Senate against a well-known Kentucky state government official. Sources in the Brannon campaign tell us they hope to emulate Paul’s Kentucky success in their primary battle with NC state House speaker Thom Tillis.
The announcement by Paul sets up a clear battle in the North Carolina GOP Senate primary between Tea Party forces and Karl Rove & the GOP establishment — who are lining up behind Tillis.
In a release disseminated by the Brannon campaign, Paul had this to say:
“Americans are looking for leaders who will honor their oath of office by fighting to ‘protect and defend’ the Constitution and Greg is the clear choice for conservatives in North Carolina.
The American people don’t want more politicians in the U.S. Senate who will continue to expand the size of . government. We need Greg in the Senate to provide vital reinforcements to help reverse out-of-control spending, restore constitutional limitations on our federal government, and fight back against President Obama’s agenda.
And as Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and I showed clearly in our campaigns, when you run on principle and excite the grassroots Republicans, and Independents and even Democrats hungry for a change, you win. That’s why I support Greg Brannon, and expect him to be North Carolina’s next Senator.”
Paul is the second major national conservative Tea Party-aligned figure to praise Brannon. RedState’s Erick Erickson tossed in his two cents on the Cary physician’s campaign a few months back.
This is great news. The lines have been drawn – the fight is on. As we see the total capitulation by Republicans in Congress unfold, it’s clear that this party is the party of what? What do they stand for? We know for sure what they do NOT stand for and that is Principled Conservatism, Integrity & Values. At the head of these talking heads and Republican mouthpieces is Karl Rove…he represents the GOP Establishment. Instead of looking inward for what’s wrong with the party, he leads the battle cry of blaming the Tea Party & Conservatives for standing on principle. Imagine that, standing for something like fighting for the American people. Karl Rove & his GOP Establishment also stand for Thom Tillis. As if this isn’t enough, Richard Burr, also stands with Thom Tillis. BTW, where is Richard Burr these days? He is MIA and not doing the job he is paid to do. Do NC’ians want more of this or do they want someone who will stand with them?
This just got very exciting- Rove/Tillis/Establishment vs Paul/Brannon/Conservatism
Bring it on. #2014 Cinsrrvatives are ready.
We need to all work our butts off for Brannon. He is the real deal. No way we should allow a RHINO corrupt treasonous politician to be the Republican candidate! It is time for GOP ‘good old boys’ to GO HOME!
FANTASTIC ENDORSEMENT !!!
Now, we need to excoriate Harris and Hayes for their
disappointing efforts.
I’m so glad to see conservative leaders outside of my state of North Carolina focus on the election and support the same candidate that I am. Buncombe County will be there for Brannon.
Rep. Tillis should stay in the N.C. House! He has been effective in our objectives. . . well, almost.
Now Greg Brannon has a big name endorsement!
He has mine!
Tillis ”almost effective’? Not by a country mile. Tillis is a little Napolean who is an errand boy for the special interests. We do not need him in the US Senate and we do not need him in the NC House. Maybe he should defect to North Korea or something.
Is this the same Rand Paul that just endorsed RINO Mitch McConnell and destroyed any TEA party challenger in Kentucky? Yeah that’s the guy. Thanks but NO THANKS.
Rand Paul made the right call in NC but the wrong call in Kentucky. After McConnell selling us out on defunding Obamacare, I hope that Paul will see the light and rescind his Kentucky endorsement. If not, it is troubling.
Maybe you are right. Rove endorsed McConnell too, might be worth asking what a Rand Paul endorsement means these days. Not the type of company I want to keep, and I think more people need to know about it.
I couldn’t agree more.
The Senate Conservatives Fund, founded by Senator Jim DeMint, just endorsed Matt Bevin in the Kentucky Senate primary against McConnell. Hopefully that will help encourage Rand Paul to reconsider his position in this race.
See http://www.senateconservatives.com
Glad to see this. I’ve only given Brannon a slightly-more-than-cursory look, but I’ve generally liked what I’ve seen on most but not all issues. I do hope he’s able to overcome the big fight he’s going up against. At this point, he’s pretty much the only contender I’d consider.
He’s certainly a large step up from Tillis. There is no way I’ll vote for Tillis. I’ve been unimpressed and at times simply disgusted with the way he’s conducted himself in the state GA. If he’s the GOP candidate, then I’m quite OK with looking at a Libertarian candidate or simply abstaining in that race. 🙂
THE MAIN THING I REMEMBER FROM HEARING DR BRANNON SPEAK IS THAT HE SAID…”THERE IS NO HEALTHCARE IN OBAMACARE.” SO TRUE. HE IS THE MAN TO BEAT KAY HAGEN THE DEMOCRAT OBAMA PUPPET!
Fundraising Raised/On Hand
Hagan ???/5.4mil
Tillis 1mil+/800k
Brannon 156k/105k
Harris 125k/100k
If money = votes (often it does) then Tillis is going to be hard to beat in the primary and Hagan very hard to beat in the general.
In primaries, the turnout is much lower, especially off year, and then means a more informed electorate and fewer of the low information voters. It is the low information voters that get bamboozled by use of money. Ted Cruz, for example, won his primary despite being heavily outspent by Dewhurst.
What is also needed is outside conservative groups like the Senate Conservatives Fund, Club for Growth, etc. coming in and burning that special interest twit Tillis a new one! To beat Hagan, we need ANYONE BUT TILLIS.
BTW, Jim Gardner must be getting senile to join Tillis’ finance committee. I used to have a lot of respect for Gardner, but not since that dumb move.
Agree with Raphael’s comments wholeheartedly. BTW, If on twitter, use hashtag – #ABT
The big national conservative PAC’s are starting to weigh in on Senate races. The Club for Growth has endorsed State Senator Chris McDaniels, who is running for the US Senate seat of Sen. Thad Cochran, who has not indicated whether he will seek reelection. The Senate Conservatives Fund has endorsed both McDaniels and Matt Bevin who is running in the primary against Mitch McConnell.
Hopefully both will weigh in for Brannon soon. Burr’s recent diharria in attacking conservatives ought to help motivate them to get into North Carolina, especially with Burr pumping Tillis in DC.