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 One day after winning a preference poll of conservative activists,
the Kentucky senator his libertarian message of protection for civil
liberties could help the Republican Party grow by attracting young
people and minorities.
"We're definitely talking about it, my family's talking about it,"
Paul said on "Fox News Sunday" of a run for the presidency.
"We do the things that would be necessary to make sure that it can
happen and will work. But I truly haven't made my mind up and won't
make my mind up until after the 2014 elections," he said.
Paul won a straw poll of activists at the Conservative Political
Action Conference on Saturday with 31 percent of the vote, well
ahead of second-place finisher Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
who had 11 percent.
Paul told the conference on Friday that President Barack Obama was
trampling personal liberties with programs like the National
Security Agency's electronic surveillance and offered a strong
defense of Fourth Amendment constitutional rights against
unreasonable searches and seizures.
"The youth in particular have lost faith in this president, and so I
think there's a real opportunity for Republicans who do believe in
the Fourth Amendment to grow our party by attracting young people,"
Paul told Fox.
Paul, who is up for re-election in 2016, has asked for a
clarification of Kentucky state law to determine if he can run for
Senate and president simultaneously.
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If Paul runs for president, he would join a Republican field that
also could include Cruz, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Florida
Senator Marco Rubio, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and many
others.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who lost a 2012 bid for
the Republican nomination, told Fox he also was preparing for
another run but had not made a final decision. He said he would be
in Iowa and New Hampshire later this month.
(Reporting by John Whitesides; editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
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