The Kentucky GOP voted Saturday to switch from a May presidential primary to a March caucus, a rule change that will allow Sen. Rand Paul to simultaneously run for president and seek re-election to his Senate seat.
After discussing the matter for a day, the party's central committee voted 111 to 36 to hold the state's first-ever presidential caucus on March 5, 2016. The motion required a two-thirds vote to pass, reported The Washington Post.
Paul, a first term senator known for his libertarian ideology, had personally requested the change so he could get around the state law forbidding candidates from appearing on the same ballot more than once.
"I applaud the Republican Party of Kentucky on their decision to hold a caucus in the upcoming Republican presidential cycle," Paul said in a statement, according to Politico. "The people of Kentucky deserve a voice as the GOP chooses their next nominee, and holding a caucus will ensure that Kentucky is relevant and participates early in the process... I am also grateful for the Republican Party's trust in me, allowing me to run for re-election to the U.S. Senate and seek the nomination for the Presidency of the United States."
The change is expected to cost between $400,000 and $600,000, which Paul said he would personally pay for.
"Sen. Paul reaffirmed his intent to pay for the caucus. $250,000 is to be raised or transferred to (the Republican Party of Kentucky) by September 18. If the money is not there by the 18th, it will revert back to a presidential primary instead of the caucus," Scott Lasley, Kentucky GOP 2nd district chairman, said in an email to CNN. "Details on the remaining balance will be determined as the process unfolds."
While Paul will now be able to run for president and for re-election at the same time in the general election, he apparently doesn't think that he has much of a chance at getting the party's nomination anyway. He told the central committee in a conference call Thursday night that he believes his odds are only "one in 10," reported The Herald-Leader. RealClearPolitics currently shows Paul in eighth place with a polling average of 4.3 percent.
