Texas congressman and tea party godfather Ron Paul has been hinting at a presidential candidacy for a while, but apparently son Rand, who has been in the Senate for all of three months, isn’t taking himself out of the running either.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., visited Charleston Monday to talk about his possible presidential bid, how to rein in the national debt and the current military action in Libya.
Paul, a tea party favorite who won his Senate seat last fall, is visiting several early presidential voting states independently of his father, 2008 presidential contender and current U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas.
“The only decision I’ve made is I won’t run against my dad,” Rand Paul said.
Considering all the shrieks of “no experience!” when President Obama started running for the White House with barely two years as a senator under his belt, we can imagine a Rand candidacy being pretty awkward for Republicans. Just kidding; they would just make up reasons for why it doesn’t matter at all.
All in all, it looks like one Paul or another is probably going to run:
“I wouldn’t say it’s the most likely thing in the world, but he’s keeping it on the table,” a Paul family adviser tells Hotsheet. “His dad is likely to go ahead and do it. And if his dad doesn’t do it, it seems like there would be a dearth of candidates out there who are serious about taking on problems.”
Our prediction: Ron and Rand will draw straws to decide who gets to run, Ron will lose, Rand will feel bad and promise to make Ron his running mate, the prospect of a father-son ticket is so enticing that Rand wins the Republican primary, and then both Pauls lose to Obama by 20 points.
Sen. Rand Paul tests presidential waters [Post Courier]
Rand Paul for president? New senator mulls a run [Hotsheet/CBS News]
