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Paul made it clear Monday night he plans on waging a debate against his fellow tea party Republican, Cruz, who on Monday declared himself a presidential candidate.

READ: Why Ted Cruz is running now

"Right now, I'm the only one that beats Hillary Clinton in certain purple states," Paul said on Fox News' "The Kelly File," talking about recent polls. "There will be a lot of conservatives. Ted Cruz is a conservative, but it also goes to winability. And people will have to make a decision: Which is the Republican that can not only excite the base but can also bring new people into the party without giving up principles?"

The Kentucky Republican, who's expected to announce his own presidential bid on April 7, said he was "glad" to see Liberty University students wearing t-shirts in support of his own all-but-declared candidacy, when Cruz made his announcement.

"I guess what makes us different is probably our approach to how we would make the party bigger," Paul said, referring to himself and Cruz. "I'm a big believer that you should stand on principle ... but I also think we should take those principles and try to bring in new people with them."

For Paul, that means "not just throwing out red meat, but actually throwing out something intellectually enticing to people who haven't been listening to our message before."

Cruz has rocketed to the national spotlight in two and a half years since winning election to the Senate in 2012, in part because of his unabashed efforts to take down Obamacare. He's become a favorite among tea party circles, and his campaign strategy involves targeting the more libertarian wing of the party as well.

"Instead of a government that seizes your emails and your cell phones, imagine a federal government that protected the privacy rights of every American," Cruz said during his speech Monday.

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Rand Paul - CNN.com

Rand Paul on Monday, in his first extensive comments since Ted Cruz officially announced his presidential candidacy, made the case that hes the electable Republican candidate.

The Kentucky senator, hours after his Senate colleague jumped into the presidential race, suggested his more inclusive vision for the Republican Party makes him a more appealing general-election candidate.

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Ted Cruz is a conservative. But it also goes to winnability, Paul said on Fox News The Kelly File.

The senator said that he didnt watch much of Cruzs Monday morning announcement and declined to take any major jabs at his likely rival. But he did suggest on several occasions that the party needs to do more than throw out red meat to its supporters and rally the conservative base an apparent attempt to differentiate himself from Cruz, a darling of the conservative wing but a polarizing national figure.

We kind of come from the same wing of the party. And if you look at our voting records, youll find were very, very similar, Paul said. I guess what makes us different is probably our approach as to how we would make the party bigger. And Im a big believer that you should stand on principle and be true to your principles, but I also think that we should take those principles and try to bring in new people with them.

Paul, all but certain to announce his presidential candidacy in two weeks time, touted polling data showing him doing well against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, in swing states and among independent voters. And he made reference to his outreach to the African-American community in Ferguson, at the NAACP and elsewhere outreach he has said is necessary for the GOP to expand its base and win national elections.

Im the only one that beats Hillary Clinton in certain purple states. Im the only one that also scores above all the other Republicans in whether or not I can beat her, he said.

Cruz on Monday became the first official presidential candidate in the 2016 cycle, announcing his bid first with a tweet and then in a 25-minute speech at Virginias Liberty University, the worlds largest Christian university. The speech, peppered with religious imagery, was aimed squarely at the conservative wing as Cruz vies to become the bases preferred alternative to establishment front-runner Jeb Bush.

Paul is expected to announce his candidacy on April 7 in Louisville, after which he will visit the first four presidential nominating states in four days: New Hampshire the day after, followed by South Carolina, Iowa and Nevada.

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Rand Paul, reacting to Ted Cruz, talks winnability ...

The onetime friendship between Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul has grown frosty as they both vie to become the leading conservative in the 2016 GOP presidential primary.

The Kentucky senator stepped on his Texas colleagues campaign rollout this week by questioning his electability, a move that Cruzs allies saw as a deliberate attempt to distract from his message.

One Cruz adviser alleged Paul is trying to muddy the waters in his own TV appearances and interviews after Cruz announced his presidential candidacy, dominating the news cycle Monday.

We had a fantastic day in the media yesterday, and we plan to do that today and tomorrow, the adviser said. These stories are intended to distract, and were not going to take the bait.

GOP strategists say Cruz put pressure on Paul by launching his presidential campaign at Liberty University, the

nations largest evangelical college, on Monday, stealing some thunder from his rival. Paul will launch his own campaign on April 7 with a multi-state tour beginning in Kentucky.

While they both may be Senate Republicans, theyre not playing nice in the sandbox because its all about 2016, said Ron Bonjean, a GOP strategist. With Cruz jumping out with his campaign, it causes pressure on Rand Paul to compete.

In an interview on Fox Newss The Kelly File Monday, Paul made clear he doesnt think Cruz has much appeal outside the partys base.

Paul also said he was glad Liberty students showed up at Cruzs speech in the front row wearing Im with Rand shirts, and during Cruzs speech that morning he was encouraging people to retweet Stand with Rand.

It was a long-simmering payback for a swipe Cruz took at Paul a year ago when he characterized his colleagues foreign policy views as un-Reaganesque.

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Paul rains on Cruzs 16 parade

TIME Politics Rand Paul Paul J. RichardsAFP/Getty Images US Senator Ted Cruz( R-TX) smiles at the crowd while delivering remarks announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for US president March 23, 2015, inside the full Vine Center at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Va.

Rand Paul has his sights set on Ted Cruz.

As his Lone Star colleague, Sen. Ted Cruz, announced his candidacy Monday, Paul took to Twitter, asking his following to retweet a two part message: Stand with Rand. His supporters at Virginias Liberty University got it, trolling the cameras in red shirts with Pauls mantra.

Several hours later, Paul went on Fox News The Kelly File, which aired an hour before Cruz appeared on Sean Hannitys show. Paul attacked Cruz for being unable to spread his message past his speechs largely favorable Christian audience, which, as Paul noted at least twice, were composed of students required to attend.

Ted Cruz is a conservative, but it also goes to winnability, said Paul, noting that hes traveled to liberal redoubts like Berkeley, Calif., and spoken at historically black colleges. Ive spent the last couple years going places Republicans havent gone and maybe not just throwing out red meat but actually throwing out something intellectually enticing to people who havent been listening to our message before.

Thats the way you win general elections, he added.

Pauls double-barreled Internet and TV attacks came before he officially enters the race he has scheduled a major announcement on April 7 followed by a tour of the early primary states. But they show his primary problem: he is largely competing for the same slices of conservative voters with Cruz even as he tries to expand the traditional Republican electorate.

I didnt find much I disagreed with, said Paul of Cruzs speech on Fox. We kind of come from the same wing of the party and if you look at our voting records youll find that were very, very similar.

The two conservative senators approach politics through different ideological frames: Pauls a libertarian who wants a bigger tent in the GOP; Cruz is a conservative who wants to turn out more of the base. Today, roughly half of born again Christians arent voting, he said in his campaign announcement. Theyre staying home. Imagine instead millions of people of faith all across America coming out to the polls and voting our values.

Read More: Full Text of Sen. Ted Cruzs Campaign Launch

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Why Rand Paul is Attacking Ted Cruz

Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, says one difference between himself and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas might be winnability and that he is polling the strongest against former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner for president in 2016.

Ted Cruz and I come from the same wing of the party, Mr. Paulsaid on Fox News Hannity. So sometimes youll have two very conservative, two senators who support the Constitution, and youll have to look for nuances of difference between the two, and one of those might be winnability.

Mr. Cruz became the first major presidential candidate to jump into the race for the White House this week, and he and Mr. Paul have indeed fought on the same side of many fights in the U.S. Senate.

SEE ALSO: Ted Cruz, Rand Paul campaign launches illustrate vastly different media strategies

When you look at polling right now, youll find that nobody in the Republican party does better against Hillary Clinton than myself, and I think thats because weve tried very hard to pick up [the] independent vote and voters who havent been voting Republican, and frankly, thats how you win elections, Mr. Paul said.

In a recent CNN/ORC poll, Mr. Paul trailed Mrs. Clinton by 11 points, 54 percent to 43 percent, but was closer than other potential GOP contenders such as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Mr. Paul said his goal over the last couple of years has been to take a consistent defense of liberty, but to take it to new places where it hasnt been heard in hopes that we can get a bigger party and a more national party.

So Ive been to Howard, Ive been to Bowie State, Ive been to the Urban League, Ive been to NAACP, Ive been to Berkeley trying to broaden the people, and the amount of people [I] bring in and not just toss out things that may well inflame the situation and excite certain people, but might turn off other people, he said. But Ill also put up my record as being as conservative as anybody, if not more conservative, than anybody in the Congress.

Speaking on Fox News The Kelly File, Mr. Cruz said they reassembled the Reagan coalition when he got elected to the Senate.

We brought together conservatives and libertarians and evangelicals and women and young people [and] Hispanics and Reagan Democrats, he said.

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Rand Paul: Ted Cruz and I might differ on 'winnability'