Following in his father’s footsteps, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has hinted that the door is at least open to exploring a 2016 presidential run.
Report from Yahoo News:
Ron Paul supporters might want to think twice before throwing away their “Paul for President” signs. Though the frequent presidential candidate is retiring at the end of the year, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) says he may follow in his father’s footsteps and run for president in 2016.
“I’m not going to deny that I’m interested,” Sen. Paul tells ABC’s Jonathan Karl about his presidential aspirations. While Paul is quick to add that he isn’t ready to make a decision about a presidential bid yet, he is not hesitant to say that the Republican Party needs a new message.
“I think we have to go a different direction because we’re just not winning and we have to think about some different ideas,” says the senator.
Paul says there are ways the GOP can become more competitive in regions of the country that typically swing blue in national races, such as the West Coast and New England, while expanding its appeal among different groups of people, like Hispanics and young people.
“We’re getting an ever dwindling percent of the Hispanic vote,” Paul says. “We have to let people know, Hispanics in particular, we’re not putting you on a bus and shipping you home.” Paul emphasizes that border security is still his top priority but adds that he wouldn’t “rule out” a conditional path to citizenship for those who have been living in the United States illegally for an extended period of time.
Would Rand Paul satisfy the Ron Paul crowd enough to vote the GOP in 2016? My informal browsing of the comments section on this site tells me otherwise.
