Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is labeling his potential 2016 presidential challenger a “war hawk.”
The Republican lawmaker told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday Democrats are worried his candidacy might be more attractive to a war-weary electorate.
Neither Paul nor former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced a bid for the White House, but Kentucky’s junior senator is already making a few predictions about the next presidential race. In the interview with NBC News, Paul said if he goes head-to-head with the Democratic frontrunner, some voters may break his way over the war question.
"That's what scares the Democrats the most... that in a general election, were I to run, there's going to be a lot of indepedents and even some Democrats who say, 'You know what, we are tired of war. We're worried that Hillary Clinton will get us involved in another Middle Eastern war because she's so gung-ho,'" he said.
Clinton has been critical of President Obama’s recent efforts to counter the rise of the Islamic State, arguing the failure to organize a credible fighting force to battle Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime left a vacuum that’s been filled by the radical Islamists.
A hypothetical matchup by McClatchy-Marist in April found Clinton leading all of her potential GOP rivals. Nationally, Clinton led Paul 54-40 percent.
