WSJ: Why Rand Paul Is in Danger of Becoming an Also-Ran

More brutal news for Rand. This time from Rupert Murdoch's base camp:

With 15 candidates and several months remaining in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, picking a winner is a tough proposition. But a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll provides insight into which candidates are in danger of shifting from “in the running” to “also-ran.”

Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki and Jim Gilmore form the bottom tier of the GOP field, with each registering 1% support or less among Republican primary voters.

Among the top 10 contenders, though, a key factor in this crowded field may be how much room a candidate has to grow his or her support. If most GOP voters won’t consider voting for a candidate, that campaign could soon stall.

By this measure, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is facing long odds. Some 58% of Republican primary voters said they could not envision supporting Mr. Paul, the largest share for any of the GOP candidates polling in the top 10.

The Kentucky senator’s numbers on this question have been moving in the wrong direction for several months. In April, only 32% of GOP voters said they would not consider supporting Mr. Paul, but over time, fewer and fewer Republican voters said they see him as an option.

That’s just the latest sign of stress for Mr. Paul’s campaign. Once a top-tier candidate, Mr. Paul has faced a steady decline in the polls and an accompanying lag in financial support. The head of a super PAC backing Mr. Paul confirmed on Tuesday that he had halted fundraising efforts for the senator, adding that he did not want to “raise money for a futile crusade.”