GOP candidate Rand Paul on Fox “all of the time”: 21 appearances since last May

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published

Just before Kentucky's Republican Senate primary, Trey Grayson complained that his opponent Rand Paul is “on [Fox] all of the time ... His dad [Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX] had these phenomenal contacts, so ... he's on Fox News every couple of weeks with softballs.” Paul's certainly been a frequent guest on Fox: From May 2009 to May 17, Paul appeared on Fox programs (Fox News, Fox Business, FoxNews.com) at least 21 times. Paul has also been endorsed on-air by Fox News “political analysts” Dick Morris and Sarah Palin.

From the beginning, Paul used Fox News to garner national publicity to defeat an establishment opponent. Paul officially announced his Senate bid on August 5, 2009, on Neil Cavuto's Fox News show -- a point Cavuto repeated in a September 2009 interview with Paul and his father. Cavuto responded to Grayson's charge yesterday by claiming that his show invited Grayson on every time they hosted Paul.

The following is a list of the 21 appearances Paul has made on Fox News, Fox Business and FoxNews.com between May 20, 2009 and May 17:

According to OpenSecrets.org, Paul has received 77% of his contributions from out-of-state donors, compared to roughly 25% for Grayson and Democrat Jack Conway.

Paul is frequently hosted by Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano, who also fundraised for friend Ron Paul last year. Napolitano is the host of FoxNews.com's Freedom Watch and regularly guest-hosts for Glenn Beck.

Paul proudly touts himself as a tea party candidate, so it's probably no surprise that Fox News -- the biggest booster of the tea parties -- jumped to his cause.

Note: Paul appearances were found via Nexis searches; Rand Paul's website; and available TVEyes.com transcripts.