Rand Paul urges supporters to back GOP Ky. House challengers in order to block 'Obamacare'

Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul told his supporters in an email Monday that they should donate to state House Republican candidates to “stop the liberals from implementing Obamacare in Kentucky.”

Paul’s six-paragraph email says House Democrats support Gov. Steve Beshear taking the Affordable Care Act to the next step by setting up a health exchange in Kentucky that will match up Kentuckians with health insurance if they don’t have coverage but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. The federal government is paying for the set-up of the exchange.

“Kentucky’s Democratic governor and liberal State House leaders are taking steps to institutionalize Obama’s catastrophic health care scheme,” Paul’s email says. “They want to expand socialized medicine in Kentucky. This will push our Commonwealth and our nation further toward bankruptcy.”

Paul calls on his supporters to give to a Republican House caucus fund-raiser Thursday in Bowling Green — an event the junior U.S. Senator he will headline.

Paul also is spending part of his August break from Congress raising money for state House Republican challengers in the area around his Bowling Green home.

Paul appeared at a fundraiser in Bowling Green for Republican candidate Regina Webb, who is challenging former Democratic House Speaker Jody Richards in the 20th District in Bowling Green that Richards has represented since 1976.

And next week, Paul will headline a fund-raiser for his former U.S. Senate campaign staffer, Chris Hightower, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Martha Jane King in the 16th District that covers Logan and Todd counties. Hightower left Paul’s campaign in December amid a dust-up over racist comments someone posted on his personal Myspace page.

Hightower said Friday he was looking forward to having Paul help out his campaign.