Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) officially announced his 2016 presidential campaign on Tuesday in front of a raucous crowd of supporters in Louisville. He also confirmed that he intends to seek re-election to the Senate.
However, while Sen. Paul’s presidential prospects top his priority list during this period, opinions vary as to whether he has a legitimate chance of winning the nomination and the presidency itself.
The Real Clear Politics Average, an aggregation of the major national polls, lists Paul in fourth place with 9.2 percent of GOP primary voters supporting his campaign behind former Governor Jeb Bush (R-Fla.), Governor Scott Walker (R-Wis.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who received 17 percent, 15.8 percent and 9.2 percent respectively. In a general election matchup with Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State bests Sen. Paul 49 to 42.2 percent.
With the Republican national campaign in a major state of fluidity, and no candidate in the clear favorite’s position, it is conceivable that several contenders within what could be a huge field of fourteen candidates or more could cobble together a winning coalition.
Of all the participants, Sen. Paul may be the most unique. Coming from the libertarian wing of the Republican electorate, following in his father, former presidential candidate and Congressman Ron Paul’s, footsteps the Paul coalition has staying power, particularly within a very crowded field of candidates.
The Paul announcement means that there are now two official Republican presidential candidates, he and Sen. Cruz. Next Monday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is poised to join them.
For more information, please contact David Ashinoff at (202) 547-5013 orashinoffd@agc.org. Return to Top