WASHINGTON — Rand Paul is on television – but not in Lexington or Louisville.
Kentucky’s junior senator is splashing onto screens in Ohio, as the star of a new commercial on behalf of Mike Gibbons, an investment banker running in a competitive Republican U.S. Senate primary in the neighboring border state.
In the ad, which began airing statewide in Ohio this week, Paul zones in on the issue that’s consumed much of his energy over the last year: Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“I’ve stood strong against the mandates of Dr. Fauci, but I need help,” Paul says straight into the camera. “I know Mike Gibbons will join me in demanding that Fauci is immediately fired and removed from office.”
Gibbons told McClatchy the idea to target Fauci came from Paul himself.
“That was on Rand’s mind the day we asked him to do the commercial and I was fine with it,” Gibbons said. “He reasoned with my media guys and said, ‘This will help more than anything else we’re doing.’”
Republicans across the country are increasingly using Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical officer, as a political punching bag, a symbol of what they see as the government’s overbearing response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Fauci represents a lot. I think particularly in the Republican primary, people are alarmed at what he’s done,” Paul said in an interview. “He’s become the face … because he’s also become an eager media diva to be on every show all day long telling us what we can’t do and what we can do.”
Paul has clashed with Fauci in congressional hearings for much of the last year, and just last month Fauci directly accused Paul of launching the barrage to raise money for his own re-election.
“You are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain,” Fauci said, referencing Paul’s political website that reads “Fire Dr. Fauci” and asks for contributions.
With his own re-election at home currently well in hand, Paul is turning his attention outside of Kentucky to assist other like-minded candidates whom he describes as independent thinkers that won’t be beholden to party leadership.
Paul first endorsed Gibbons in his unsuccessful 2018 U.S. Senate run. Gibbons finished second in that GOP primary race for the chance to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. This time, he’s campaigning for the opportunity to carry the Republican banner for an open seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman.
“I think he’s a strong enough personality, successful in his own right, that he won’t feel like he comes to Washington and is just going to do what he’s told,” Paul said, explaining his support.
Gibbons said he stayed in touch with Paul over the past four years, leading Paul to endorse even sooner this time. Describing Gibbons as a “liberty minded, fiscal and constitutional conservative,” Paul announced his backing of him last May.
“We’ve always been on the same page. He knows that I’m a true believer,” Gibbons said. “He’s been very helpful. He’s opened his campaign expertise to us. It’s a good feeling on my part because I think he’s one of the few voices in the wilderness we have that could try to save this country.”
Polls have shown a muddled picture of four main candidates who could still emerge victorious in the Buckeye State’s May 3 primary. Paul is expected to return to the state in the coming weeks to rally for Gibbons, who has already loaned his campaign $11.4 million in personal funds.
Paul is also backing several first-time U.S. House candidates this year, including Robby Starbuck, who is seeking a seat in Nashville, Anthony Sabatini, a candidate running just outside of Orlando and Harriet Hageman, who is seeking to unseat Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a longtime Paul nemesis for her hawkish foreign policy views.
Paul said he’ll be traveling to Wyoming to campaign for Hageman in the coming weeks.
He said while the root of his disagreements with Cheney predate former President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, he believes Cheney’s Jan. 6 commission has violated the privacy of members of Congress through subpoenas for phone records.
Paul offered no objection to the Republican National Committee’s planned censure of Cheney.
“Whether they censor her or not, I’m fine with it. I think they’ve allowed themselves to become part of a kangaroo court,” he said.
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