Rand Paul Sets April Date for 2016 Campaign Launch

The announcement will come on April 7, 2015, at a speech delivered in Louisville, Kentucky. It had long been rumored Paul was targeting April, as are many candidates, and now we know that time frame is official. It appears that Paul is skipping any kind of exploratory committee, which is not uncommon, and going straight to a full-blown presidential campaign for the 2016 Republican nomination.

Report from CBS News:

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, is expected to make his presidential candidacy official, in a speech on Apr. 7, in Louisville, Kentucky, CBS News confirms, citing a source familiar with Paul’s plans.

The Kentucky senator’s announcement, first reported by the New York Times, is timed to be the day after the NCAA championship game, and also during the two-week Senate recess coming at the end of March. Paul’s announcement date enables him to begin his official run for the presidency at the beginning of a fundraising quarter. This will maximize the time he’ll have to raise money before his first report is due to the Federal Election Commission. As a declared candidate, his finances will be filed and publicly available each quarter, and part of the success of his candidacy will be measured by the money he raises.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that although Paul may still change his mind about running, “invitations to the event have already been sent to supporters and Republican officials.”

Paul will also be running for reelection to his Senate seat at the same time he runs for president. Though Kentucky does not allow candidates to be listed a ballot for two different offices, Paul was able to convince the state party to hold a nominating caucus, which allows him to run for both. [Emphasis added]

Paul won his way with the Kentucky GOP and convinced them to hold a caucus, instead of a primary, which allows him to compete for both a Senate nomination and a Presidential nomination in his home state.

So far, most pundits are rating him as one of the few candidates able to compete with Jeb Bush in terms of overall support and fundraising abilities. That has yet to be proven out but we’ll soon learn how the money race is going as candidates launch official campaigns requiring quarterly financial disclosures.