A Caucus for Kentucky?
Sen. Rand Paul appears very likely to run for the Republican nomination for President but he is also up for re-election in 2016.  He faces a problem in that Kentucky law states that “no candidate's name shall appear on any voting machine or absentee ballot more than once.”  If Paul's presidential campaign gets past the early contests, Kentucky's May 2016 primary would pose a quandry.  To address the situation Paul proposes that the Kentucky Republican Party hold a presidential caucus in March 2016 instead of the presidential preference primary in May 2016.  The state party's executive committee wil consider the proposal at its meeting on March 7, 2015 in Bowling Green.  Below are letters in support of the proposal from Sen. Paul (Feb. 9), Rep. Thomas Massie (KY-4) (Feb. 18) and gubernatorial candidate James Comer (Feb. 19 or 20).  -ema 2/25/15

Hi ,


For many years now, there has been talk of moving up the primary vote for President in Kentucky. Republicans, myself included, have argued that our late primary makes us less relevant in the selection process and Presidential candidates never seem to campaign in Kentucky.


As most of you know, moving up Kentucky's Presidential primary election would also allow me to make a run for the nomination and seek re-election.


Seeking both is actually quite common. In the last Presidential election, Paul Ryan ran for Vice President and Congress at the same time. Although we were not successful in getting a Republican in the White House in 2012, we were able to keep Paul Ryan as a Republican leader in the House of Representatives.


My request to you is simply to be treated equally compared to other potential candidates for the Presidency. Over half of the states already allow this to occur.


Kentucky law currently allows us as a party to hold a GOP caucus for President on a separate date from our primary, thus allowing me to be treated the same as other potential candidates for the Presidency.


As you may have heard, you, as a member of the Kentucky Republican Central Committee, will be the one to decide if you want to help me get an equal chance at the nomination. The GOP Executive Committee will discuss creating a Presidential preference selection for 2016 at a meeting on March 7 in Bowling Green.


The proposal we will ask you to look at is moving the Presidential preference vote from a May primary to a March 2016 caucus.


There are several reasons for this request. First, as you may know, this idea did not originate with me, or even in this current cycle. It has been suggested by others for several cycles that Kentucky has no influence on the Presidential process because of our late Primary.  By May 2016, the GOP will likely have decided its nominee, rendering our votes useless in
deciding anything.


On the other hand, a March caucus would allow Kentucky Republicans to vote in the middle of the Presidential primary, when our votes will matter.


It is my honor and privilege to serve as your United States Senator. It is a job I love, that I take seriously, and that I intend to keep doing even if I decide to run for President.


When I first ran for office, I had a full time job and kept it throughout the campaign.  Every day I would see my patients in my office, then campaign at night or on my days off.


My pledge to you is that I will treat my current job as seriously as I treated being a doctor while running for office in 2010. I will fulfill my duties in the Senate.


If I choose to also seek the Presidency, I will do so to serve the people of Kentucky and the ideas that I ran on and have worked for. I believe I can keep helping the people of Kentucky as Senator, but I think there is no doubt I could help them even more as President. I hope that would make Kentucky proud if I were to do so.


Changing our Presidential election requires no changes in Kentucky law. The law already states that the Republican Party may choose its date and method of election.


Changing it gives us more leverage to be relevant.


And changing it allows a Kentuckian to seek the office while also remaining as your Senator, leveling the playing field with most other states that already allow this.


There have been many questions on this from my friends, so let me answer a few of them.


1.    The change being proposed would ONLY apply to the President. Congress, Senate, and other offices would remain on the May primary ballot. ABSOULTEY no other elected official or candidate would be affected by this change.


2.    It requires no change in the law, and is not subject to legal challenge. The authority is clear.


3.    This can be a one-time change.  If the party ends up preferring to go back to a primary for whatever reason, it can do so in subsequent years. In fact, a primary would remain the default position under the law. Any change away from the primary in future years would require a new vote by party officers.


4.    This prevents a costly and time-consuming legal challenge.


As you can see, the process is clear, the benefit to Kentucky is clear, and the choice affects no other office holder or candidate in Kentucky.


Because of all these facts, I ask for your support for this Party rule change on March 7. I am here to answer your questions ahead of time if you like. Please reply to this email with any questions or concerns -- or to tell me of your support for this idea.


Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for serving on the Central Committee.  I look forward to seeing you in Bowling Green on March 7.


Rand Paul, MD

U.S. Senator

Subject: Thomas Massie Statement on Kentucky Presidential Caucus
From: Thomas Massie

Dear Fellow Republican,

You should have recently received a letter from my friend and colleague, Senator Rand Paul. Senator Paul is asking us to level the playing field for him in Kentucky to allow him to seek the Presidency during his re-election for U.S. Senate.

I say level the playing field, because most states clearly allow for that. Kentucky actually probably does too, because they have an unconstitutional statute saying otherwise that has never been tested in court.

Senator Paul would make Kentucky proud! So let's Stand with Rand, and stand for Kentucky.

Can you imagine how Kentucky would fare with a President Paul and Senate Leader McConnell fighting for us?

The only thing needed for Rand to do this is a simply rule change by the Party. No lawsuits. No fights in the legislature. Just a rule change that is allowed under current law to move our Presidential preference selection to a Caucus.

I know there have been some questions on this, so let me address a few Rand has offered to raise the money to pay for the needed changes.

This would affect ONLY the Presidential selection.  Every other race would remain as usual in its current primary.

Any Republican voter who wishes to vote will be able to.

This can be a one year change -- if we don't like it, we don't have to do it again.  Future elections are not bound by this decision.

The Kentucky Party will set the rules -- that means you. So don't let anyone tell you the rules don't allow for x, y or z. We will be able to set the rules, as a Party.

Last but not least, regardless of helping Rand, this helps the KY GOP and our voters.

Right now, we don't matter in selecting a President. Our primary is way too late. No one even competes for it.

Moving to a caucus allows us to move up into March where people will have to pay attention to us.

Thanks for your time today. If you're on the Executive Committee, I hope you'll act on March 7 to make this simple rule change for our Party and for Rand.

If you're going to be voting later, I hope you'll keep an eye on this and ask questions. Don't let those who seek to stop Rand give you false arguments. The issue is rather simple, and I, for one, will Stand with Rand here. I hope you will too

Thanks,

Congressman Thomas Massie

To My Fellow Republicans,

There has been much discussion about moving up the presidential primary vote in Kentucky in 2016 to make the Commonwealth more relevant in the selection process. I believe we should make that decision now.

As you know, our own U.S. Senator Rand Paul is considering a presidential run in 2016. Kentucky Republicans have a unique opportunity right now to have a major voice in electing the next President of the United States. I support Senator Paul in his request to move the Kentucky presidential primary to a caucus at an earlier date and I urge you to consider his request as well.

I have heard some questions regarding Senator Paul's request, and I believe these questions will be addressed as we move forward.

Our party will get to set the rules. Our party will get a bigger voice in the process. And we will get to show our support for our Senator and friend.

This change would effect only presidential selection. No other offices would be impacted.

I am confident if we all agree to work collectively as a party we can achieve a favorable solution for everyone. We must work towards a solution that is inclusive to all participants in our election process, while supporting our Senator.

Going forward, I hope we will deliberate this issue in good spirit. And I hope you will consider how to best support Senator Paul, who has been a tremendous voice for Kentucky.

Sincerely,

James Comer