Politics

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is on a west-coast fundraising swing this week that includes stops at some of the country’s most well-known and respected technology companies.

Senator Paul is considering a 2016 presidential bid, and the Wall Street Journal reports this week’s visit to the west coast is part of his effort to reach out to groups not normally associated with the GOP.

Yesterday, Paul held a private town hall meeting for Google employees at the company’s Mountain View, California campus. The Bowling Green Republican is also making fundraising stops at Facebook and eBay.

Paul has been outspoken about the need for the Republican Party to reach out to groups that normally don’t vote for the GOP, including African-Americans and young people along the West Coast.

Paul says many employees at place like Google and Facebook are likely more fiscally conservative than President Obama, but are turned off by the GOP because they see the party as too far to the right on social issues.

The race for a House seat representing Kentucky 56th District is getting pricey.

The Courier-Journal reports the three candidates have so far raised a combined total of $147,000 for the seat of Democrat Carl Rollins, who stepped down after being named as head of the state student financial aid agency.

In contrast, Rollins and his opponent raised a combined total of $96,000 for the 2012 general election campaign.

A special election for the seat that includes Woodford County and parts of Fayette and Franklin is set for June 25. The candidates vying for the seat are Democrat James Kay, Republican Lyen Crews and independent John-Mark Hack.

A new online advertisement from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's reelection campaign focuses on the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS—an issue the campaign says it's not going to let slip out of the public discourse.

The nearly three minute ad uses speeches from McConnell on the IRS issue before it became a national controversy, as well as media reports and testimony from IRS officials to Congress.

It also includes a sound bite from former President Richard Nixon speaking in an interview he did on the Watergate scandal during his term as president—a comparison between Nixon and President Barack Obama.

In an interview, McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton says that  neither the senator nor his campaign will allow the IRS targeting to stray too far away from the 24/7 news cycle nationally or in Kentucky.