“I’m really worried about the national debt and out-of-control government spending,’’ she said. “I worry about the effect it will have on my kids.’’
She was home-schooling one of her children when she learned that Paul had sponsored a bill in Congress to provide tax credits to families who sent their children to private schools. She did more research on other issues and was attracted to the congressman’s plain-spoken and unwavering advocacy for less government and lower taxes, she said.
Some of his devotees, such as Rachel French of Belmont, a retired telecommunications company worker who was making calls on his behalf recently, are “End the Fed’’ advocates.
Intrigued by Paul, she has studied the history of the Federal Reserve, which was created in 1913. “The banking cartel runs it,’’ she said, applauding her candidate for “having the same message forever.’’
“He’s served as a prophet or the conscience of these presidential debates, not only on the Federal Reserve but also the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,’’ said Dante J. Scala, professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire. “He’s stuck to his guns and now, four years after he ran in 2008, it appears that the skepticism he had about American foreign policy aims and objectives are shared by a significant segment of the Republican base.’’
In 2008, Paul finished fifth in the first two nominating contests, the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, getting 10 percent and 7.7 percent of the votes, respectively. He first ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian.
Scala does not believe that Paul has expanded his base yet in the Granite State but does think that his support remains solid.
“It may only be 10 to 15 percent of the Republican primary vote, but it’s not going to go to one of the other very conservative candidates,’’ Scala said. “It’s an eclectic mix of people who support him and will stay with him.’’
Andrew E. Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center, said his polls show that Paul “does best with young people and does well in the more rural parts of the state, like the North Country and the Upper Valley’’ of the Connecticut River.
Smith, who administers polls for the Globe, said focus groups have indicated that many college students are attracted to Paul “because he wants to legalize pot,’’ but that the candidate may also be benefiting across the Republican spectrum from “a resignation and tiredness about the wars.’’
Brian C. Mooney can be reached at bmooney@globe.com.
