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When Rand Paul began charting his presidential run, the Ray-Ban-wearing senator and heir apparent to a libertarian legacy rebranded himself to suit more mainstream Republican tastes.

He rejected his famous fathers isolationist foreign policy, voted for more military spending and even campaigned in front of an aircraft carrier. He invited a Christian broadcasting network into his home and spoke against gay marriage, famously pronouncing himself libertarian-ish.

But it turned out that Rand Paul 2.0 had a glitch: Appeal was limited.

After flatlining in the polls and lagging rivals in fundraising, Pauls campaign heeded a market lesson repeatedly applied in American politics. They brought back the original.

The Kentucky senator has pivoted back to his familiar stomping grounds among the outliers of Republican politics.

In May he infuriated some fellow Republicans by delivering a 10-hour speech to protest Patriot Act provisions on NSA domestic spying. Last month he became the first presidential candidate to openly court money from the legalized marijuana industry and shared a moment with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, known for his standoff with federal agents in 2014 and for his divisive comments about minorities.

Out of necessity hes moving back to his base, which is a sign the strategy he adopted was the wrong strategy, said Aaron Day, chairman of the New Hampshire chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus, a nationwide libertarian-leaning organization within the GOP. He needs the grass-roots and they know this now.

Rands campaign denied any rebooting of his message or positions, and insisted that he never intended to replicate the campaigns of his father, the former Texas GOP congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul. There has been no change, no pivot, said campaign manager Chip Englander. He has the same view hes always had.

But as Paul tried to navigate a more crowd-pleasing course, he ended up in no-mans land, disappointing core activists while failing to generate enthusiasm from the partys mainstream.

The result left him on an island, said one strategist from a rival Republican campaign who did not want to be identified speaking about Paul. Hes played this footsie game with the establishment for so long and you can see him make this pivot back.

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After sagging in fundraising, Rand Paul 2.0 reboots ...