The Kentucky senator signaled Monday he’s unlikely to delve into the South Carolina Senate contest, which includes three challengers trying to unseat Graham.
“I’m going to try not to be involved,” Paul said in response to a reporter’s question. ”We’re unlikely to, we’re not going to say never.”
The answer underlines the difficulty of the question for Paul, whose inclination in many races has been to back the insurgent conservative challenger against the establishment figure. But as he lays the groundwork for a probable 2016 presidential run, he realizes the risk in getting in the crosshairs with the heavily favored Graham, who wields tremendous influence in the Palmetto State.
While Graham’s favorability numbers among Republicans are middling, a four-way primary that splits the opposition works to his advantage. He’s also flush with cash, with $6.9 million in the bank.
But Paul’s reasoning went even further, positing that his involvement in a primary here would hamstring his ability to make substantive progress in Washington.
“I think for the most part, I’m not against people having races and people may run against me some day, if I run again. But I think that it’s difficult for other people to get involved because you eat lunch with people every day. It’s just a difficult scenario and doesn’t make for any kind of cohesiveness as far as trying to get things done in Washington,” he said.
Paul and Graham are ions apart on their foreign policy views, but recently there’s been signs their chilly relationship has thawed.
Graham was complimentary of Paul’s “responsible” approach during the government shutdown.
Not exactly a bromance yet, but perhaps steps towards at least a lunch.
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