and they are looking for someone who could appeal to - or at least not offend - hispanics, non-white women and other parts of the electorate that went big for obama and democrats last year.









that's why, just four months into obama's second term, paul is part of a stampede of republican would-be contenders who are criss-crossing the country meeting voters, recruiting potential donors and currying favor with local politicians who could help determine their fate in a run for the white house.









the lessons of romney's bitter loss in november are never far away. on monday, paul made jokes about neighboring (and more liberal) massachusetts and chided leading democrat hillary clinton. but the kentucky senator also made a point of calling for a more diverse republican party, one that, in his words, should have room for tattooed, bearded and pony-tailed voters.









rubio's fellow floridian jeb bush, the state's former governor and a brother to one former president and son to another, has not indicated whether he might run in 2016. but he has been politically active, calling for congress to approve an immigration bill.









the lack of an obvious front-runner for the upcoming presidential election is not unusual for the democratic party but is for republicans, who for generations have typically had an experienced contender in line to run for the white house.









"we are putting together a narrative of the rick santorum story," brabender said. "it's pretty interesting to see how close he came to the (2012) nomination. if he would have won michigan, he would have been the nominee. one of our jobs is to sort of remind people of that."
it begins...
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