McConnell to Support Rand Paul?

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave indications in a recent interview with CNN that he will support his fellow Kentucky Senator Rand Paul for president in 2016 should his candidacy come to fruition as most believe.

When asked directly whether he would support Paul, McConnell detailed, “I’m almost certainly going to be doing that at some point. I’m going to be helpful to him in any way I can be, but I’m not going to be tromping around in New Hampshire and Iowa, I can tell you that.”

As we reported last week, Kentucky prevents a candidate from appearing on the same ballot twice, which is a clear impediment to Paul running both for Senate and President in 2016. Since he has already declared for reelection to his Senate seat, campaign insiders point to a number of options for getting around the state’s regulation.

Whether McConnell’s pending support will lend any assistance in the rocky road Paul must navigate in the coming months remains to be seen.