Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) remains among the so-called top-tier in the historically long list of potential GOP presidential candidates, and his momentum in that direction continues to grow in what has been no secret concerning his White House ambitions.
This week Paul announced the selection of another key staff member critical to building his national campaign operation. Chip Englander, who led the successful efforts in Illinois for recently elected Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, will serve as Paul’s campaign manager moving forward. Paul praised Englander,
“His management of Governor Rauner’s successful race last year highlights his strengths: precise and strategic management of massive, grassroots-driven operations.”
Englander joins long-time adviser Doug Stafford, Paul’s Chief of Staff, in what is thought to be a growing list of heavy hitters who can help steer Paul’s operation and image to a more mainstream shot at the White House than his father enjoyed.
In a post-announcement interview, Englander declared, “America has intractable problems and it’s going to take a transformational leader to fix them. Senator Paul is going to be the bold, transformational figure in this race.”
Former Congressman Ron Paul’s best showing among his multiple bids for the presidency was a 21% haul in the Iowa Caucuses. The strategy for his son is to capitalize on those remaining assets while also strategically distancing himself from many of the failures of that operation. Englander continued about his efforts in Illinois, “We built 83 offices and got together 10,000 volunteers and knocked on millions of doors. Some politicians run campaigns from television studios. That’s not the way I do things, and that’s not the way you win.”
