Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has been campaigning across South Carolina this week, stopping in Lexington on Monday and plans to stop in Spartanburg and Lexington on Friday.
The GOP candidate spent about an hour at the Lexington Veterans of Foreign War Post 8738, according to WIS.
This past weekend, Paul has come under fire from fellow Republican candidate Lindsey Graham, who has been campaigning in his home state of South Carolina for weeks now.
Graham has openly criticized Senator Paul's stance on foreign policy, and also claimed that Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would be beaten by every GOP candidate with the exception of Paul.
“I think some people are scoring so poorly in the polls, that they want to be relevant,” Paul said to WIS. “The way to be relevant is to attack me."
Senator Paul did mention foreign policy briefly at the V.F.W. Post in Lexington, mentioning the Benghazi scandal to be Clinton's biggest failure.
Paul did mention his frustration at how the situation in the Middle East has unfolded as well.
"It annoys me that we are now fighting against our own weapons. ISIS has a billion dollars worth of Humvees," Paul said. "I think also there are some in our party who believe intervening around the world in every skirmish makes us safer. [I think that] is wrong."
While Paul was campaigning in Lexington, Republican candidate Jeb Bush was preparing a speech in Miami for the same afternoon.
The senator is aware that most of the focus is on Bush at the moment, but is hopeful that voters will decide for a change from the past 25 years, with the exception of the Obama administration.
On Friday, Senator Paul has plans to visit Spartanburg for a meet and greet event, followed by grabbing "a pizza and a pint" with GOP activists in Greenville later in the day.
Paul will be attending a "Stand with Rand" meet and greet at the Beacon Drive-In in Spartanburg at 3:30 p.m., after which he will be traveling to Greenville for pizza with GOP supporters at 5:30 p.m. at the Greenville County GOP Headquarters on Wade Hampton Boulevard.
Finally, Senator Paul will be attending the "Pints for Liberty" event at Connolly's Irish Pub, located on East Court in downtown Greenville.
An Eventbrite page states that the event is 21 years and older, and that it will offer an "opportunity for liberty-minded folks to get together and unwind, strategize and energize over drinks with special guest: Senator Rand Paul.”
—James Stewart, News Editor