GREENVILLE, North Carolina — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has a harsh message for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and any other potential 2016 GOP presidential candidates: Support Common Core? You won’t win the presidential primary.
“I don’t see Common Core being—if you’re for Common Core and you’re for a national curriculum, I don’t see it being a winning message in a Republican primary,” Paul said in an interview backstage at an event where he endorsed Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) for reelection. “If there’s a Republican candidate out there—let’s just say there’s a hypothetical one that’s for Common Core. I’m saying that that hypothetical candidate that’s for Common Core probably doesn’t have much chance of winning in a Republican primary.”
Paul did not name Jeb Bush personally, but the former Florida governor and potential 2016 candidate has been an outspoken advocate for Common Core national educational standards. Bush was here in North Carolina on the other side of the state in late September to endorse the state House Speaker Thom Tillis’ U.S. Senate bid against incumbent Democrat Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC), during which Tillis sought to distance himself from Bush’s views on both immigration and Common Core.
During the event where he endorsed Tillis, Bush pushed Common Core and immigration—two things from which Tillis distanced himself from Bush.