Paul: Time to move on from Romney

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says Mitt Romney has had his day, and it’s time for Republicans to nominate “somebody fresh” as their presidential candidate.

Speaking late Tuesday night on Fox News’s “The Kelly File,” Paul was asked if he thought Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, could finally close the deal in 2016.

{mosads}“I think everybody has their time and place, and sometimes we might do better, and I think we would do better, with somebody fresh and with new ideas,” Paul said.

The Kentucky Republican is gearing up for a run at the White House in 2016. He recently hired a political adviser who will shift into the role of campaign manager once he launches his bid.

Romney has been gearing up as well. He’s been meeting with donors and political operatives to gauge whether there’s an appetite for what would be his third consecutive run for president.

On Tuesday, Paul said Romney failed to bring new voters into the GOP fold in 2012, and he didn’t see why things would be different in 2016.

“In order to win in a big election, a presidential election, you’ve got to attract new people to the party,” Paul said. “This means more African-American voters, more Hispanic voters, more young people, more independents, and I guess the objective evidence in this — in 2012 it didn’t work. I like Gov. Romney, I think he’s a good person, but I guess there just wasn’t something there to attract new people, and I don’t understand what will be different this time.”