Rand Pauluses and Minuses: Is Rand Poised to Turn the Corner?
A week following Rand finally cracking the "100 Pauluses" mark, the novel presidential candidate had one of his strongest and most public victories to date. Will that stand as the turning point in his campaign? Let's break it down in this week's column.Rand wins Michigan Straw PollIt's been an eternity since there was any positive polling news for Paul that actually mattered, but this past weekend that all changed at the Mackinac Island Straw Poll and could be a sign of things trending up. Politico reports:
Rand Paul won the straw poll at the Mackinac Island Republican Leadership Conference, a show of organizational strength for a candidate who has seen his presidential hopes fade.Paul led with 22 percent, followed by Carly Fiorina with 15 percent, John Kasich with 13 percent, and Ted Cruz with 12 percent. Trailing them were Jeb Bush with 9 percent, Marco Rubio with 8 percent, and Donald Trump with 6 percent.
Ben Carson came in at 5%, far below his national polling average.This is a great win for Paul, and one that's being well-publicized, however the win has to be taken with a grain of salt even though it's encouraging. Ron Paul also notoriously won straw polls, and Rand also had incredibly well-connected and organized leadership in Michigan leading into the event. That being said, this is a more exclusive event than some, and could be more indicative to the actual disposition of Michigan's GOP voter base, who aren't buying into the Trump hooplah.This could be seen as a turning point in Rand's campaign, especially when combined with a few shockingly complimentary MSM write ups he got for his debate performance, which I'll bullet out a bit in the next item.