One of the women most frequently mentioned as possibly the next First Lady of the United States will be in Russellville Tuesday. She’s been here before, though, it’s safe to say.
Kelley Ashby Paul is the wife of U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Bowling Green. A 1981 graduate of Russellville High School where she was a cheerleader, she is the daughter of Hilton and Lillian Ashby of Russellville. Hilton is retired as account executive for WRUS/WBVR. Lil is a beautician and businesswoman.
Kelley Paul will attend a brunch in her honor at Ariella Italian Restaurant on the south side of Carrico Park Square in downtown Russellville from 9-10:30 a.m. The restaurant and the Logan County Republican Women’s Club are co-sponsors of the event.
Reservations are requested at 270-731-004.
Kelley has been the subject of numerous interviews and stories as it becomes more and more apparent that her husband is one of the frontrunners for the Republican nomination for president next year. The New York Times said that a major feature on the Russellville native in highly regarded fashion magazine Vogue depicts the Pauls as “…a Southern version of Will and Kate - two attractive intellectuals with infectious chemistry and veiled media savvy.
“Paul's 50-year-old wife shines through as the artful secret weapon behind her husband’s political career.”
Kelley previously worked as a political consultant for Strategy Group for Media, but she gave up that job last July. The Times said it was “presumably to avoid a conflict of interest, and now dedicates her time helping her husband with his communications strategy.”
Sen. Paul’s dedication to his wife was shown, however, when he refused an invitation to an important political gathering in Iowa to be with her at an event in the Hamptons, which was a fundraiser for a public library.
Paul and his wife were invited to the fundraiser by Kate Hartson of Hachette Book Group, which is publishing a book by Kelley Ashby Paul in 2015. (The same publisher released Rand Paul's last two books, as well.)
"I'm doing a book that's a collection of essays about women of inspiration," Kelley Paul told Bloomberg, adding that the book is "mainly about my grandmother."
The New York Post reported that actor Alec Baldwin co-sponsored the event, and Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and former New York Gov. George Pataki were also at the event.