Report: Pro-Paul group stops fundraising

by Jesse Byrnes and Jonathan Swan - 09/29/15 2:52 PM ET

Purple PAC, one of three super-PACs supporting Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) presidential bid, has stopped raising money, according to a Tuesday report.

{mosads}Ed Crane, the co-founder of the Cato Institute who oversees the super-PAC, reportedly told Politico that the lawmaker’s libertarian-leaning views had “disappeared.”

“I have stopped raising money for him until I see the campaign correct its problems,” Crane said. “I wasn’t going to raise money to spend on a futile crusade.”

Reporting only $1.15 million by June 30, Purple PAC has about a third of the money held by the largest super-PAC supporting Paul. In its mid-year FEC accounts, the top pro-Paul group – America’s Liberty PAC – reported $3.1 million in contributions.

Overall, the pro-Paul super-PACs have seen only a tiny fraction of cash held by the Kentucky senator’s Republican opponents.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz exceeds Paul’s super-PAC haul by more than $20 million, and even both candidates who have already quit the race – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry – outraised Paul on the super-PAC side.

According to recent polls, Paul has struggled for his White House bid. The Hill reported on Tuesday that several Paul supporters have defected to Cruz’s campaign. Among them: Former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), who ran for president in 2008 as a Libertarian.

The Hill also reported that Paul will attend fundraisers on Wednesday and Thursday for his reelection to the Senate.

Paul insisted Monday on CNN that he was in the 2016 presidential race for the long haul, and on Tuesday shrugged off Donald Trump’s suggestion he might drop out soon.

Tags Libertarian Party Rand Paul