The question surrounding both Sens. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio concerning whether each will run for president and/or U.S. Senate in their respective states is catching more steam.
In the last month Rubio has signaled that he is seeking the White House as he continues building a national campaign team and is absent from the Senate more than he is present. But given that the 2016 cycle will come with significant challenges for the new GOP majority, many Senate leaders are quietly pressing Rubio to reconsider a Senate bid.
Of the 34 Senate seats up for reelection in 2016, 24 are Republicans including Rubio’s. Therefore, minimizing the number of open seats is critical to GOP efforts to ensure control does not flip back to the Democrats.
Similarly, Rand Paul is signaling that he will attempt to eat his cake and have it to in an aggressive plan to change Kentucky’s nominating procedure to a caucus in March, which he would easily win.
The plan would successfully serve as a side-step to the current primary system that would prevent Paul from appearing on the state’s ballot both for President and Senate in May.
Should Paul ultimately win the Republican presidential nomination, which would become clear long before the July national convention, he could then choose to opt out of the Senate race or to challenge the state’s law in the courts.
