Rand Paul's Bid for Data Independence

摘要

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is living up to his promise to run for president as a "different kind of Republican." Paul's campaign has decided that he can win the nomination without much help from the Republican establishment. And that he's not going to help them either. Both political parties enter into data agreements, designed to allow candidates access to their voter databases. In exchange, candidates typically pledge that after the election they'll enrich the database by contributing whatever intelligence they gather about voters during the campaign. Thus far, 11 Republican presidential hopefuls have signed contracts to receive voter profiles from the Republican National Committee, according to a party official who asked not to be named. More are expected to do so in the coming weeks: Aides to Ohio Governor John Kasich, who joined the race on July 21, have already held discussions with the RNC about getting access to its data, according to a person familiar with the talks.