KURTZ: Rand Paul vs. Ted Cruz: Why one of them is winning over the press

Shown here are Sen. Rand Paul, left, and Sen. Ted Cruz.AP

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Rand Paul vs. Ted Cruz: Why one of them is winning over the press

The two freshmen senators are media magnets, brash brand-builders often at odds with their party as they eye a White House run.

But Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are starting to draw very different treatment from the press. Paul is getting positive coverage, sometimes grudgingly, while Cruz is increasingly being portrayed as a difficult loner.

Its not about their ideology both Republicans are staunch conservatives as much as their style. And style counts a great deal with the Beltway pundits.

Take, for instance, this National Journal piece declaring Paul the GOPs early front-runner. However ephemeral the designation, this is remarkable, given that the Kentucky senator was originally viewed as an extension of his father, perennial candidate Ron Paul, whose hard-line libertarianism was often dismissed by the media as part of a fringe movement.

But Rand Paul is not his dad. The story begins with a slap that practically casts Paul as unelectable, but gives him his due:

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KURTZ: Rand Paul vs. Ted Cruz: Why one of them is winning over the press