Rand Paul sharpens 2016 pitch

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) used his message to California Republicans Saturday as a way to sharpen his potential 2016 pitch to voters.

The Kentucky Republican slammed Hillary Clinton’s — the likely Democratic presidential front-runner — handling of the 2012 Benghazi attacked, suggesting the former secretary of State’s foreign policy record should prevent her from being commander-in-chief.

{mosads}“I think she had a 3 a.m. moment. She didn’t answer the phone, and I think it absolutely should preclude her from being [president],” he said after outlining what he deemed her shortcomings leading up to the 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Delivering the keynote address to the California Republican Party convention, he also urged the GOP to try new tactics to gain voters.

“Let’s be the party that actually wants to extend the right to vote,” Paul told about 400 delegates in Los Angeles. “Some people say, well these people are going to be Democrats, more of them are going to be Democrats. Let’s be the party for voting rights, let’s be the party for restoring more voting rights, then more people will come to our party.”

Paul, who’s been pushing a libertarian approach this year to expanding the GOP base, said when the party “looks like the rest of America” it will win again nationally.