Under current Kentucky law, Senator Rand Paul would not be able to seek higher office while simultaneously running a campaign to keep his current office. With an eye toward the White House in 2016, Paul intends to change that.
Report from the Washington Times:
Opening a door to hedge his political bets, Sen. Rand Paul has asked the leader of the Kentucky Senate for legislation to ensure that Mr. Paul can run both for the White House and for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2016, The Washington Times has learned.
“Yes, I am working on clarifying an ambiguous state law that Rand Paul believes is unconstitutional if it is interpreted to bar running for re-election to the Senate and for president at the same time,” Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer told The Times on Monday.
“The purpose of the bill will be to make clear that Rand Paul or anyone in a similar situation in Kentucky can run for both offices in the same year,” Mr. Thayer explained.
If things go Mr. Paul’s way, he could win the GOP presidential nomination, then run in the fall 2016 general election for the presidency and to retain his U.S. Senate seat. If he wins the presidency and the Senate re-election bid, he would relinquish his Senate seat.
If he loses the presidential election but wins the Senate re-election race, he would become a second-term U.S. senator from Kentucky.
Pretty clear sign the junior Senator from Kentucky would like to occupy the Oval Office but would also like to hedge his bet to keep his name on his senate office door should the former not pan out.
Not an uncommon move, to say the least. One only has to look at Senator John Kerry in 2004 who retained his US Senate seat after losing the presidency to George W. Bush. Of course, Massachusetts law already allowed that scenario.
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