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TIME Politics Rand Paul Paul J. RichardsAFP/Getty Images US Senator Ted Cruz( R-TX) smiles at the crowd while delivering remarks announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for US president March 23, 2015, inside the full Vine Center at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Va.

Rand Paul has his sights set on Ted Cruz.

As his Lone Star colleague, Sen. Ted Cruz, announced his candidacy Monday, Paul took to Twitter, asking his following to retweet a two part message: Stand with Rand. His supporters at Virginias Liberty University got it, trolling the cameras in red shirts with Pauls mantra.

Several hours later, Paul went on Fox News The Kelly File, which aired an hour before Cruz appeared on Sean Hannitys show. Paul attacked Cruz for being unable to spread his message past his speechs largely favorable Christian audience, which, as Paul noted at least twice, were composed of students required to attend.

Ted Cruz is a conservative, but it also goes to winnability, said Paul, noting that hes traveled to liberal redoubts like Berkeley, Calif., and spoken at historically black colleges. Ive spent the last couple years going places Republicans havent gone and maybe not just throwing out red meat but actually throwing out something intellectually enticing to people who havent been listening to our message before.

Thats the way you win general elections, he added.

Pauls double-barreled Internet and TV attacks came before he officially enters the race he has scheduled a major announcement on April 7 followed by a tour of the early primary states. But they show his primary problem: he is largely competing for the same slices of conservative voters with Cruz even as he tries to expand the traditional Republican electorate.

I didnt find much I disagreed with, said Paul of Cruzs speech on Fox. We kind of come from the same wing of the party and if you look at our voting records youll find that were very, very similar.

The two conservative senators approach politics through different ideological frames: Pauls a libertarian who wants a bigger tent in the GOP; Cruz is a conservative who wants to turn out more of the base. Today, roughly half of born again Christians arent voting, he said in his campaign announcement. Theyre staying home. Imagine instead millions of people of faith all across America coming out to the polls and voting our values.

Read More: Full Text of Sen. Ted Cruzs Campaign Launch

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Why Rand Paul is Attacking Ted Cruz