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MANCHESTER, N.H. As Republican contenders converged on New Hampshire, a brewing rivalry began to take focus Saturday, pitting a duo of tea partiers with overlapping agendas.

Sen. Ted Cruz and his Kentucky colleague, Rand Paul, are allies on a host of issues. Back to back at a conservative summit, each pitched a message of economic populism meant to broaden the GOPs appeal and vowed to curb federal power.

For conservative voters who get to cast the first primary ballots of 2016, its pretty much a tossup.

I would vote for a Paul-Cruz ticket. Or a Cruz-Paul ticket. It depends on which one of them wants it more, said Auburn, N.H., resident Jesse Edwards, 56, a retired Army officer.

New Hampshire political activists viewed this weekend as the unofficial kickoff for the 2016 campaign. A daylong Freedom Summit held Saturday by Citizens United and Americans for Prosperity at a hotel near the Manchester airport offered the first chance of the cycle for potential candidates to appeal for the affection of Granite State conservatives.

Apart from the senators, Fox News commentator and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also shared the spotlight as did Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich, who arent expected to make a run in 2016.

If you listen to Democrats, Cruz said at the summit, they will tell you that Kathleen Sebelius resigning [as health secretary] is a result of Obamacares success. If that is true, then I hope every Democrat will follow her path.

Paul used his speech to argue that the GOP message should be aimed more directly at wooing blue-collar workers and minorities. If we want to grow our movement, its got to have new people. We cant be the party of the plutocrats and the rich people, he said.

Cruz popped into the press room as Paul was speaking. He pointed to the TV screen.

Riveting. Powerful, he said.

Read more from the original source:

In New Hampshire, GOP voters see Ted Cruz vs. Rand Paul as a tossup