On Election Night Rand Paul took time out of his busy Hillary-bashing schedule to deal with a more local 2016 concern. For many months the senator has been trying to figure out how to get around a Kentucky law that would prevent him from running for senator and president simultaneously in 2016. Running for two offices isn’t uncommon (Paul Ryan and Joe Biden did it in recent elections), but Paul’s latest strategy is: He’s exploring whether the state could switch from primaries to a caucus system, just to let him hedge his presidential bets.
Kentucky law states, “no candidate’s name shall appear on any voting machine or absentee ballot more than once,” and caucuses may let Paul avoid the issue in the primaries, as they usually don’t have a paper ballot. Steve Robertson, chairman of the state party, told Politico that he spent half an hour discussing the possibility with the senator at Mitch McConnell’s victory party.
Local GOP officials would have to approve the plan, but it could give the state more sway in the presidential nominating process if they move the date up. “I’m sure they would be very open to having a discussion and debate,” Robertson said. “But certainly, the questions you raise about how would it work, and with a body like that, they would certainly like to know what would the cost of something like that be.” How can they worry about money when Paul might be forced to work as an ophthalmologist Fox News pundit?!
