No surprise here, Paul has always been planning to pursue both offices in 2016. This simply makes his Senate campaign official as a fallback in case his presidential ambitions don’t pan out this time around.
Report from Fox News:
Kentucky Republican Rand Paul says he will seek re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2016.
Paul said in a press release Tuesday that he hopes to continue “the task of repairing and revitalizing our great nation” in the Senate.
Paul is also considering running for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. His team believes there are ways around a Kentucky law that seems to prohibit running for Senate re-election and president at the same time.
Fellow Kentuckian Mitch McConnell, who will be Senate majority leader after the new year, said Paul was “essential in the U.S. Senate.”
It appears the Kentucky Republican primary won’t happen until May of 2016 which should give any potential nominee time to clench the nomination before then. If Paul happens to be the nominee, he can simply withdraw his Senate campaign prior to the primary and avoid questions about Kentucky law which does not allow a candidate’s name to appear on a ballot more than once.
