Ron Paul may be convinced his son is planning to run for president in 2016, but in a radio interview airing Sunday night, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul distanced himself from his father's prediction.
"He's one step ahead of where I am at this point," the younger Paul said on Aaron Klein's WABC show, a transcript of which was provided to BuzzFeed. "You know, we have thought about it. I've done some traveling. I am trying to figure out how we make the Republican message broad enough that we widen our base and are able to win national elections. But I wont make a serious decision about it probably until after the 2014 elections."
Ron Paul, a retired libertarian congressman who was a perennial presidential protest candidate, told CNN earlier this month that his son "probably will" seek the presidency in 2016. While many see the Kentucky senator as a logical heir to his father's base of libertarian ideologues, Rand has sought with some success to present himself as a more pragmatic politician with broader appeal — breaking with the GOP on certain high-profile national security issues, and with his father on more fringe elements of his platform.
But Paul reiterated in the WABC interview that any decision he makes will be done with his whole family in mind — not just his dad.
"And really there is a lot of discussion," he said. "It's not an easy decision to make. I know I want to be part of making the country better. Getting our economy back growing again. Back to the belief in a Constitutional limited government and balanced budgets. But there is also a toll on your family in undertaking something like this. And so we'll probably not know for about a year exactly what our decision is."
Speaking in Detroit earlier this month, the younger Paul suggested his wife, Kelley Ashby, is less than enthusiastic about the prospect of a 2016 campaign.
"If I'm a very able politician," Paul said. I'll tell you in a year whether I'm able to persuade my wife. Right now, I don't know yet, but I thank you for your interest."