Rand Paul flubbed his wardrobe at Koch event
It's no surprise that Rand Paul's libertarian ideas have rankled some members of the Republican Party, but apparently, his wardrobe does too.
Politico reports that some attendees were turned off by the Kentucky senator's choice of attire when he spoke at the annual winter meeting hosted by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch: jeans, a blue sport coat and cowboy boots.
Frayda Levin, who supports Paul and attended the conference in California last month, said that some attendees though his appearance as "cavalier." Another attendee told Politico that while "jeans might work for a younger audience...these are old bulls who put on a tie every day to go to the office."
Paul's fellow speakers, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Florida and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, both opted for slightly more dressy attire: Cruz also had on a sport coat, in a tan color, but wore his with dark slacks, and Rubio donned a navy suit and tie.
While the 2016 presidential campaign will be an expensive affair that demands candidates bring in every dollar they can get their hands on, Paul is less reliant on big donations from wealthier Americans than some of his colleagues. His campaign committee has brought in $5.9 million, or 43 percent of its individual contributions, from donors who gave less than $200, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.
By contrast, Rubio's campaign brought in $10.2 million from small donations, but that represented just 34 percent of his individual contributions. And Cruz's committee brought in just $2.9 million, or 16 percent of his contributions from small-dollar donors.