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Kelley Paul

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Kelley Paul
Paul in 2021
Born
Kelley Ashby

(1963-09-03) September 3, 1963 (age 61)
Russellville, Kentucky, U.S.
Alma materRhodes College
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
(m. 1990)​
Children3

Kelley Ashby Paul (born September 3, 1963) is an American political consultant and freelance writer. She has worked as a consultant for The Strategy Group for Media, and she published a book titled True and Constant Friends in April 2015.[1] Her husband is ophthalmologist and U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Paul is a graduate of Rhodes College. She is actively engaged in fundraising for veterans charities, in addition to her work for a political consulting firm.[2]

Early life and education

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Kelley Ashby was born in Russellville, Kentucky, the daughter of Lillian (née Wessell) and Hilton Ray Ashby, a military family.[3][4] Paul has described her grandmother, an Irish immigrant who traveled the United States as a teenager, as one of her greatest life influences.[5][6][7] Paul spent much of her early life moving around the country, describing herself as an "Air Force brat".[2] Her family lived for a few years in Turkey as well.[2] She graduated from Russellville High School, where she was a member of the cheerleading squad. Following her graduation from high school, Paul attended Rhodes College, where she majored in communication and English.[8]

In 1988, Kelley met Rand Paul at a backyard oyster roast in Atlanta.[2] Rand Paul was completing a surgical rotation at Georgia Baptist Hospital while working on his medical degree at the Duke University School of Medicine.[2] At first Kelley thought that Rand was a teenager, and was unaware that he was actually a 26-year-old doctor.[2] They began dating while Rand Paul completed his rotation program, and Rand asked Kelley to move back with him to North Carolina and try to find a job in the Durham area so that they could continue being together. On October 20, 1990, the couple married, and eventually moved to Kentucky in 1993 when an ophthalmologist position opened up in the city of Bowling Green.[2]

Paul would go on to help her husband with producing newsletters and mailings for his practice, running the payroll, keeping the books, and managing a remodel of the building where he saw patients.[2]

Later career

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Kelley Paul introducing her husband at his presidential announcement in Louisville, Kentucky.

Leading up to her husband's election to the United States Senate, Paul began freelance writing, and focusing more on her own career as a private citizen. In addition, she also worked for the political consulting firm The Strategy Group for Media, with one of her clients being then-U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz of Texas. She also maintains a board position at Helping a Hero, a charity that builds houses for wounded war veterans.[9]

During her husband's campaign, Paul gave political speeches on behalf of her husband, including speaking to Republican women's groups, and participating in commercial advertisements on behalf of his campaign.[10][11]

In the lead up to Rand Paul's decision to run for President of the United States, Kelley Paul began writing a book focused on her long lasting friendships, as well as her own family history titled True and Constant Friends: Love and Inspiration from Our Grandmothers, Mothers, and Friends. Many political consultants have referred to Kelley Paul as Senator Paul's "secret weapon"[12][13][14] and describing her as a "very confident person, very comfortable, and she complements [Rand] well".[15] She played a key role in the decision regarding whether her husband would run for president, but stated that it was a much easier decision than deciding to run for U.S. Senate in mid-2009.[16]

In late September 2015, Paul filed for her husband to appear on the ballot in the South Carolina primary.[17] In January 2016, after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton came under criticism for her husband Bill Clinton's past relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, Paul said in an interview that Bill Clinton was "fair game" since he had become involved with his wife's campaign and that while it may not have been just, "I think we all know that's the way it is in politics now".[18] It was reported that she would be joining her husband in touring Iowa that month in an effort to garner more support for his campaign.[19]

In 2018, Paul advocated for passage of the First Step Act, meeting with senators and conducting public interviews (including appearing on Fox News) to try to build support for the bill.[20][21] Paul says she was enlightened on the need for criminal justice reform by her husband Rand and father-in-law Ron Paul, whose advocacy "opened [her] eyes to the extent of how bad our system is broken and how people are suffering through that".[20]

On August 11, 2021, Kelley Paul's husband Rand Paul disclosed that Kelley had purchased a stake in Gilead Sciences, which manufactures an antiviral drug used to treat COVID-19, on February 26, 2020.[22]

Personal life

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Kelley Paul and Rand Paul were married on October 20, 1990, and have three sons.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "True and Constant Friends". Hachette Book Group. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Belkin, Lisa (March 25, 2015). "Kelley Paul gets ready for her media blizzard". Yahoo! News. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  3. ^ Paul, Kelley (April 14, 2015). True and Constant Friends: Love and Inspiration from Our Grandmothers, Mothers, and Friends. Center Street. ISBN 9781455560745.
  4. ^ Ellis, Ronnie (July 23, 2020). "Paul's father-in-law received small USDA payments". The Daily Independent.
  5. ^ "Kelley Paul Recounts Her Last Moments With Her Grandmother Before Her Death". Huffington Post. April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  6. ^ Bash, Dana (April 14, 2015). "Kelley Paul spotlights key to campaign trail survival: Friends". CNN. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  7. ^ "Kelley Paul Talks Rand, Palin, and Princess Leia". Bloomberg. April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  8. ^ "About Kelley Paul". RandPaul.com. April 7, 2015. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  9. ^ Horowitz, Jason (September 16, 2013). "Could Republican Senator Rand Paul Win the White House?". Vogue. Archived from the original on November 20, 2013.
  10. ^ Camia, Catalina (April 7, 2015). "Kelley Paul promotes husband for president in campaign video". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  11. ^ Zezima, Katie (April 14, 2015). "Kelley Paul's advice to husband Rand Paul: 'You need to share a little bit about who you are, from the heart'". Washington Post. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  12. ^ Whitman, Elizabeth (April 7, 2015). "Who Is Rand Paul's Wife? Meet Kelley Ashby, His Secret Weapon Who Might Not Want Him To Win The 2016 Presidential Campaign". International Business Times. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  13. ^ Halperin, Mark (April 8, 2015). "Bloomberg's Heilemann, Halperin: Is Kelley Paul Rand Paul's Secret Weapon?". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  14. ^ Peters, Jeremy (April 13, 2015). "Kelley Paul Has a Task: To Make Rand Paul More Approachable". New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  15. ^ Schelzig, Erik; Peoples, Steve (January 8, 2015). "Book tour puts Rand Paul's 'secret' weapon on national stage". Associated Press. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Colmes, Alan (April 14, 2015). "Kelley Paul: Running For Senate Was Harder Decision Than For President". Fox News. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  17. ^ "Kelley Paul files husband Rand's S. Carolina primary papers". WKYT. September 29, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  18. ^ Breitman, Kendall (January 6, 2016). "Kelley Paul: Ted Cruz Is 'Two-Faced'". Bloomberg.
  19. ^ Norvell, Kim (January 6, 2016). "Rand Paul returns to Iowa Jan. 7".
  20. ^ a b Clark, Lesley (November 14, 2018). "Trump gives Kelley Paul's push for criminal justice reform a major boost". McClatchyDC. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  21. ^ Autry, Lisa (November 21, 2018). "Kelley Paul Presses McConnell To Move Criminal Justice Reform Forward". WKMS. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  22. ^ Stanley-Becker, Isaac (August 12, 2021). "Rand Paul discloses 16 months late that his wife bought stock in company behind covid treatment". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  23. ^ Harvey, Alyssa (April 7, 2015). "What you see of Kelley now is what she was then". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
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