Rand Paul Prods Kentucky to Tweak Law

Oh, the difficulties faced by Rand Paul: He's considering running for president in 2016 but would like to run for re-election to the US Senate at the same time, just in case, and he's not sure Kentucky law currently allows him to do so. So he's asked the state Senate majority leader to pass a law ensuring he can conduct both campaigns simultaneously, the Washington Times reports. Current state law says a candidate's name cannot appear on a ballot more than once, the Wire explains.

"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," the majority leader, Damon Thayer, confirms. "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." But the Kentucky state House speaker, Greg Stumbo, is a Democrat, and an anonymous Republican Party operative tells the Times that Stumbo has said he wouldn't allow such a bill through the Democrat-controlled House. (How serious is Paul about a presidential run? Thayer tells WFPL that Paul "is strongly considering seeking the Republican nomination for president.")