Rand Paul's New Hampshire headquarters were burglarized overnight Tuesday, the campaign discovered when workers arrived Wednesday morning. Senior campaign adviser Michael Biundo shared the news on Twitter as he prepared to leave for Iowa ahead of Thursday's GOP debate and Monday's caucuses in the early voting state.
Going to Iowa today for the final caucus push and now I am dealing with our New Hampshire for .@RandPaul office being broken into.
— Michael Biundo (@MichaelBiundo) January 27, 2016
The campaign noted that they didn't think the robbery -- which included iPads, laptop computers, cell phones, cameras and snacks -- was politically motivated. "There have been other break-ins in that area along Bridge Street recently, and there were no big items taken," Biundo told the New Hampshire Union Leader. "I'm told there are no suspects at this time, so there's no way to know for sure, but this may just be a typical break-in."
However, Matt Chisholm, Paul's New Hampshire communications director, said that it's a bit of a setback in terms of the campaign getting its work done. "These are tools that we use every day to manage our data, look up voter data and contact our supporters online," said Chisholm, according to WMUR. "The work continues. We're still full phone bank, contacting voters today. We're going to keep chugging."
The news is another blow to the already beleaguered campaign. Paul sits near the bottom among the 2016 Republican field in recent polling. In national polling averages compiled by RealClear Politics, he is tied for eighth place with Mike Huckabee at 2.2 percent. In Iowa, he's in fifth place with 3.8 percent. in New Hampshire, he's in eighth place with 3.6 percent support.
