FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s proposed Republican presidential caucus would be March 5 and candidates would only need 5 percent of the vote to qualify for delegates as the state seeks to woo the large field of contenders and their millions of dollars amid Rand Paul’s sluggish campaign.

State party leaders agreed to switch the state’s format from a primary to a caucus so that Paul could run for president and re-election to his U.S. Senate seat at the same time without violating a state law banning candidates from appearing on the ballot twice. Paul, once seen as a leading candidate for the nomination, has struggled to gain a foothold in a field of 17 candidates while dealing with the fallout from the indictment of a close confidant and leader of his powerful Super PAC.

However, Paul did qualify for the first Republican presidential debate in Cleveland on Thursday night, giving him national exposure with six months left before the Iowa caucuses.

The state party’s central committee is scheduled to vote on the new rules Aug. 22. Committee members are already reviewing the proposal.

“Rand Paul might have been the impetus for getting the ball rolling, but if most members … are going to vote for it it’s going to be with the eye of making us relevant,” said Scott Lasley, chairman of the special state party committee that wrote the proposed caucus rules. “If Rand Paul is 8th or 9th in the polls come December, I think that encourages even more participation.”

By moving the caucus to early March, it ensures delegates would be awarded proportionally instead of a winner-take-all format. The proposed rules say candidates would need just 5 percent of the vote to qualify for delegates.

“It’s extremely low,” state Republican Party chairman Steve Robertson said. “Therefore it makes it extremely enticing for these campaigns to come and compete for delegates.”

The biggest question is who will pay for the caucus. Robertson estimated it could cost as much as $500,000.

Earlier this year, U.S. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell endorsed the caucus proposal because Paul promised to raise the money to pay for it. That seems to be in question now. Robertson said the rules do not say who is responsible for the cost.

“If the primary issue of concern on Aug. 22 is being able to afford this, you know, I don’t know how to predict whether or not it will pass,” Robertson said.

The Republican Party of Kentucky had $167,115 cash on hand, according to its latest disclosure report. And the party is preparing for an aggressive 2016 election cycle when it tries to take control of the state House of Representatives for the first time in a century.

The proposed rules call for candidates to pay a $15,000 filing fee, which would help defray the cost. Paul’s campaign confirmed they would make sure the Republican Party of Kentucky had enough money to cover the cost of the caucus.

The rules call for the caucus to be open for six hours, giving voters a larger window to participate but still smaller than the 12 hours normally reserved in a primary election. Each county would have at least one caucus location, as opposed to the thousands of precincts that operate on election day. Some of the smaller counties with few registered Republican voters could have to travel to a neighboring county. After the fall elections, the party would ask each county to come up with a caucus plan that includes proposed locations.

The rules attempt to get around one potential roadblock: absentee voters, specifically those serving overseas in the military and those stationed at the state’s two military bases. Robertson said voters will be able to vote absentee, with ballots issued from the Republican Party of Kentucky’s headquarters in Frankfort.

Voters would select their preferred candidate on a preprinted ballot. But unlike a primary election, campaigns can have representatives at the caucus locations to talk to voters and try to persuade them to vote for their candidate.

“In late February and early March if we have six or seven candidates traipsing around Kentucky trying to get support, then it’s a success,” Lasley said. “If we’re ignored, then it’s not a success.”

ed Press.