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Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), second form left, speaks as Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Ed Gillespie, top second from right, and Republican 7th district Congressional candidate, Dave Brat, right, listen during a rally in Ashland, Va., on Wednesday. Associated Press

ASHLAND, Va. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul rallied Wednesday with an unlikely pairing of Republican candidates as he lays the groundwork for a presidential campaign that would seek to unify the wings of the party they represent.

On one side of the stage was Senate candidate Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman and Washington lobbyist who favors legal residency for undocumented workers. On the other was House candidate David Brat, a political rookie who won his GOP primary by knocking an ally of Mr. Gillespie, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, in part by arguing that Mr. Cantor was soft on illegal immigration and beholden to special interests.

After the two candidates exchanged compliments and made the case for their own candidacies, Mr. Paul took the stage. I seek unity, and I smell victory, he said.

The rallys settingin a swing state that President Barack Obama carried twice by turning out minorities, young voters and womenreinforced Mr. Pauls message that we only win when we talk to new people.

The rally three weeks before the Nov. 4 vote was the latest example of how potential presidential candidates are using the mid-term election to test campaign themes, raise their profiles and connect with activists in key states.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), for example, is campaigning this month for Senate candidates in New Hampshire and Iowa, which hold the first nominating contests. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush stopped in three cities in Michigan on Monday to rally voters behind Republicans on the ballot in November. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) spent the weekend mingling with Republicans in South Carolina, which traditionally hosts the first presidential primary in the South.

Mr. Paul, who is planning to make four campaign stops in New Hampshire on Thursday, has kept up a particularly frenetic schedule. He is appearing this week in television ads supporting Thom Tillis in North Carolina and Dan Sullivan in Alaska. But he stepped off the campaign trail on Sunday to meet with African American leaders in Ferguson, Mo., a city roiled by racial tension since the August shooting of an unarmed black teenager. At the gathering, Mr. Paul discussed his support for restoring voting rights to felons, an issue not typically raised by Republicans.

He probably does more smart politics in a week than the rest of the national players in a month, said Scott Reed, a top political adviser to the Chamber of Commerce, which is paying for the ads starring Mr. Paul. Hes a great messenger for the party.

Mr. Pauls outreach and willingness to stray from conservative orthodoxy, however, threatens to fracture the libertarian base that helped him win election to the Senate in 2010. At the rally, Doug Shackelford, a 65-year-old retired hospital administrator, called Mr. Pauls outreach to the African American community pandering and said he was showing too much lenience toward illegal immigrants, though Mr. Paul voted against a bill last year that included a pathway to citizenship for people in the country illegally.

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Rand Paul Plays Up GOP Unity in Virginia Rally