The poaching of Rand Paul’s former campaign staff has begun as the Marco Rubio campaign wooed Paul’s former campaign manager.
Chip Englander will work as a senior political adviser for the Midwest, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The jump from Paul’s campaign to Rubio’s might seem strange, ideologically speaking, but the change isn’t rare. Paul’s campaign staffers had previously worked on campaigns for Rick Santorum, John McCain, and Michele Bachmann, as well as Ron Paul. Sometimes, campaign experience matters more than identical political beliefs.
Englander could drive some former Paul supporters to give Rubio a second look. Ted Cruz has vied for Paul supporters, though it’s not clear how successful he has been in attracting them. By the end of his campaign, Paul didn’t have many supporters anyway, so the point might be inconsequential.
As Rubio tries to recover from a disappointing debate on Saturday and a lackluster finish in the New Hampshire primary, his campaign has entered survival mode. He’s been criticized for a “bizarre” strategy that has been scant on the ground in organizing supporters. With Englander joining his campaign, Rubio might take the challenges of a campaign more seriously.
