Rand Paul Will Run for Senate

Rand Paul, son of Texas Congressman Ron Paul has announced his candidacy for the Kentucky US Senate currently held by Jim Bunning. From the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Bowling Green ophthalmologist Rand Paul said Wednesday that he will convert his Senate exploratory committee to a full-fledged campaign.

Paul's decision to enter the 2010 race was expected, especially after Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., announced last week that he would drop his bid for a third term after posting poor fundraising totals during the first half of 2009.

Paul — the son of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, an unsuccessful candidate last year for the Republican presidential nomination — said he probably would have eventually entered the GOP primary race even had Bunning stayed in.

“I do have a lot of respect for Sen. Bunning, and I was still waiting out of respect for him … but I think we were going forward on the basis of uncertainty (about whether Bunning would be re-elected),” he said.

Paul, 46, is known for his largely libertarian views and has often been at odds with more mainstream Republicans. He opposed the U.S.A. Patriot Act — enacted after the 2001 terrorist attacks — and favors dismantling the Federal Reserve Bank.

His politics are similar to his father's, as is his disdain for mainstream Republican initiatives that he argues led to a doubling of the federal deficit during the Bush administration.

On Saturday at the Fancy Farm political picnic, he lobbed criticisms at both Republicans and Democrats, calling “hypocrisy ... the one true bipartisan trait.”