Potential 2016 Presidential Candidate Rand Paul Coming to NH

Potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul will be in Concord next month to headline a New Hampshire Republican State Committee fundraiser.

The location for the May 20 NHGOP Liberty Dinner has not yet been announced, but NHGOP Chairwoman Jennifer Horn confirmed Wednesday that the event will be held in Concord. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is also scheduled to speak at the event.

"We're very excited about it and we know this is going to be a great event that's going to appeal to the full spectrum of Republicans," Horn said in an interview with Concord Patch. "I thought that it was important that this first event send a clear message."

Unless someone else visits between now and May 20, Paul will be the second potential 2016 presidential candidate to visit New Hampshire this year.

Jon Huntsman, who ran in 2012, made a stop in Portsmouth in February. A Huntsman aide said at the time, however, that it was only an informal visit and shouldn't be taken as a sign that he is planning to run for president in 2016.

Paul's visit to New Hampshire is sure to spark excitement among Republicans. His father, Ron Paul, finished a strong second in the 2012 New Hampshire Primary and has a strong group of supporters in the Granite State. Many of those supporters said they were particularly impressed with Rand Paul's anti-drone filibuster last month.

"Rand Paul understands how to be politically effective, as his recent filibuster showed," former state Rep. Seth Cohn said at the time. "I don't always agree with him on policy, but I'd support him in a run for President. Certainly, he's one of the best the GOP has to offer."

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley, speaking to the news of the visit, referred to reports last month of U.S. Sen. John McCain speaking ill of Paul. In a statement, Buckley said:

"There can no longer be any doubt that the New Hampshire Republican Party has turned its back on traditional Granite State values, in a desperate attempt to become the face and voice of the irresponsible Tea Party and radical social conservatives. How else do they explain honoring someone so extreme Republican Senator John McCain called him a 'wacko?' Rand Paul will fit in perfectly with Bill O’Brien, Jeb Bradley, and the rest of the reckless Republicans in Concord who made the largest cuts to public higher education in American history, raised taxes, and left a massive budget deficit."