KY Poll: 66% oppose changing law to allow Rand to run for President and Senate

[tsai3904]

Poll: Two-thirds oppose law change so Rand Paul can run for Senate, president simultaneously

Though U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is generating national buzz as he flirts with running for the White House in 2016, voters in Kentucky are not as enthused by the idea, according to the latest Bluegrass Poll.

Kentucky voters still have an overall positive view of Paul, but they're divided and lukewarm about what Paul should do in the future, the poll found.

Two-thirds of respondents did agree on one thing about the senator: They do not support changing Kentucky law to allow Paul to run for president and his Senate seat simultaneously in 2016.

...

In the latest poll, 66 percent of respondents said the law should not be changed to allow Paul to run for both offices at the same time. Only 27 percent said they favor changing the law, and 7 percent said they weren't sure.

Worse yet for Paul, 54 percent of Republicans surveyed oppose changing the law, compared to 36 percent who favor the change.

...

More:
http://www.kentucky.com/2014/09/01/3...ds-oppose.html

The question asked is a bit biased:

Kentucky currently prohibits candidates from running for two offices on the same ballot. Do you believe Kentucky should change its law so that Sen. Rand Paul could run for both the U.S. Senate and President of the United States in the same election?

Here's the full poll results:
http://media.kentucky.com/smedia/201...4nB8.So.79.pdf

[extortion17]

Yes, this IS the situation for 2016 . . .

the Florida Senator has the same problem / situation as well btw . . .







Rand can run like his Dad did, and in the unlikely event he weren't to get the GOP nod
at the National Convention in Cleveland, O-hi-o in late June 2016,
he should have time to file for his United States Senate seat . . .

however, I sure hope he can participate in the GOP Senate primary while a candidate on the national stage.
Such exposure is ultimately good for the great state of Kentucky, I would think -imho.

but Romney or Rubio or Christie or Jeb Bush could NOT win Ohio in the 2016 general election vs. the Dim candidate -
especially Romney imho

no Ohio - no GOP win again



Someone who is so unequivocal (as in this ad) is what the US of A needs - help us out Kentucky voters



.

[Brett85]

I'm afraid this issue may end up being a problem. I hope that the GOP can take back the Kentucky legislature in November.

[CaptUSA]

I'm afraid this issue may end up being a problem. I hope that the GOP can take back the Kentucky legislature in November.

No problem. He just needs to go all or nothing, IMO. Even if he ultimately fails, he'll be a shoo-in to take over McConnell's seat the next time around.

Really, I think there would be no greater sign of confidence in his ability to sell his message than to go all in.

[Krugminator2]

I'm afraid this issue may end up being a problem. I hope that the GOP can take back the Kentucky legislature in November.

If this were a problem, that would be an extremely good thing. Rand is a huge underdog (just like every other GOP candidate) to get the nomination. He has very optimistically a 20% of getting it. If he is popular enough to get the nomination, something will get figured out. This is the least of his problems.

[Brett85]

No problem. He just needs to go all or nothing, IMO. Even if he ultimately fails, he'll be a shoo-in to take over McConnell's seat the next time around.

Really, I think there would be no greater sign of confidence in his ability to sell his message than to go all in.

I don't really think that's a bad idea, because then Massie could run for the Senate. But it doesn't seem likely that Rand's going to do that. He'll probably file a lawsuit claiming that the law is unconstitutional if the GOP doesn't take back the house, which may make him look bad.

[Brett85]

If Rand were to file a lawsuit against Kentucky's election law, could that be expedited to the Supreme Court immediately so that it could get settled?

[thoughtomator]

it don't matter, he'll be too busy being President to be a Senator

[specsaregood]

Really, I think there would be no greater sign of confidence in his ability to sell his message than to go all in.

And should he not win; I believe Randal when he says he'd be happy going home and being a doctor again. Seeing as he has kept his skills up to date he has an actual career to fall back on rather than being some tick that can only suck the blood from taxpayers.

[CaptUSA]

And should he not win; I believe Randal when he says he'd be happy going home and being a doctor again. Seeing as he has kept his skills up to date he has an actual career to fall back on rather than being some tick that can only suck the blood from taxpayers.

If that happens, you can bet that the GOP will be begging for him to run against Hillary's re-election. An eye doctor in 20/20.

[jllundqu]

Did anyone bitch and complain when Sen. McCain ran for president as a sitting senator??? Hypocrite GOP sheeple.....

[klamath]

The filing date for the KY 2016 primary is 28 jan. The NC primary is the 26 of jan, the 4th election of 2016. If Rand isn't showing any wins in the first four states he needs to drop out and file for KY senate. He doesn't need to stay in with a secret delegate strategy until the convention.

[specsaregood]

If Rand isn't showing any wins in the first four states he needs to drop out and file for KY senate.

I disagree. He needs to do whatever is best for his family. I think he has made it clear that he isn't satisfied with what sitting in a Senate seat can get accomplished and another term as Senator probably wouldn't change that.

[Vanguard101]

If Rand can't run for both, I don't think he will run for president. He's not planning on staying in politics for long. 2-3 terms tops. If he ran for president and lost, which is likely going to happen, he probably wouldn't run again.

[Brett85]

If Rand can't run for both, I don't think he will run for president. He's not planning on staying in politics for long. 2-3 terms tops. If he ran for president and lost, which is likely going to happen, he probably wouldn't run again.

To me it seems pretty clear that he's going to run for President no matter what. I think he would risk giving up his Senate seat before he would decide to not run for President.

[MRK]

If Rand were to file a lawsuit against Kentucky's election law, could that be expedited to the Supreme Court immediately so that it could get settled?

In all cases, the Supreme Court decides when and even if it will hear any particular case. There's no legal method to force a hearing. Let that sink in for a bit.

Got Bless Merica

[tsai3904]

If Rand were to file a lawsuit against Kentucky's election law, could that be expedited to the Supreme Court immediately so that it could get settled?

The optics of filing a lawsuit to run for two seats simultaneously would not be worth it to him.

[tsai3904]

To me it seems pretty clear that he's going to run for President no matter what. I think he would risk giving up his Senate seat before he would decide to not run for President.

He's said in many interviews that his name will be on the Senate ballot no matter what. I think the decision is whether or not he wants to appear on the Presidential ballot in Kentucky.

[klamath]

I disagree. He needs to do whatever is best for his family. I think he has made it clear that he isn't satisfied with what sitting in a Senate seat can get accomplished and another term as Senator probably wouldn't change that.

I was strictly talking about electoral strategy and you have no disagreement from me on doing what is right for his family. Four to eight years as president will age a person 10 to 20 years.

[wetroof]

I like Matt Bevin. I think there is a good chance he would run for senate again if Rand won't be.

[Massachusetts]

I agree with the 66% here. I don't think you should be able to hedge your bets. Either go all in our nothing. Just because it's our guy shouldn't change the issue.

[idiom]

If he skipped this round and ran in 2020 he would have 10 years of Senate under his belt.

But we would need a standard bearer for the Ron Paul platform this time around.

[Vanguard101]

If Rand can't run for both, I don't think he will run for president. He's not planning on staying in politics for long. 2-3 terms tops. If he ran for president and lost, which is likely going to happen, he probably wouldn't run again.

I don't think he would do that. Very risky. It would be a huge blow if he left the Senate. There would be zero non-interventionists in the Senate

[Brett85]

I don't think he would do that. Very risky. It would be a huge blow if he left the Senate. There would be zero non-interventionists in the Senate

According to some people Rand must be some kind of hardcore neocon warmonger since he's said that he supports the air strikes against ISIS. At least I don't see how people can claim that he's a non interventionist while simultaneously claiming that anyone who supports military strikes against ISIS is a neocon.

[Brett85]

I like Matt Bevin. I think there is a good chance he would run for senate again if Rand won't be.

Rand should endorse Massie if he decides not to run for reelection to the Senate.

[Brett85]

He's said in many interviews that his name will be on the Senate ballot no matter what. I think the decision is whether or not he wants to appear on the Presidential ballot in Kentucky.

That seems to be his best option, to just have his name on the Senate ballot and just run a write in campaign for President in Kentucky if the race is still competitive by that time. Of course if he won the GOP nomination, he would probably have to drop out of the Senate race.

[Jackie Moon]

The filing date for the KY 2016 primary is 28 jan. The NC primary is the 26 of jan, the 4th election of 2016. If Rand isn't showing any wins in the first four states he needs to drop out and file for KY senate. He doesn't need to stay in with a secret delegate strategy until the convention.

He's said in many interviews that his name will be on the Senate ballot no matter what. I think the decision is whether or not he wants to appear on the Presidential ballot in Kentucky.

I agree that he needs to win some of the early states to make it worth continuing, but I don't think needs to quit by a certain date in order to run for Senate.

I think his plan for the Kentucky primary is to only be on the ballot for the Senate. He doesn't need to be there for President.

The Kentucky primary isn't scheduled until May. By then he'll either have the Presidential nomination locked up and won't need Kentucky's delegates, or he will have already dropped out.

The only conflict comes after he wins the Republican nomination. He would then have to give up running for the Senate in order to run for President in the general election.

I would hate to lose him in the Senate... but by then he'd have around a 50-50 shot at being President. It's a gamble but it does have a pretty big payoff.

[liberty jungle]

This is non issue. Rand will be very stupid if he doesn't run for both office. There is even no need to change the law as kentucky delegate is very small for him to matter. If he was living in texas or california it would be different. Running for both office is not something new whether you are a democrat or republican. Even the establishment media won't single out and attack Rand for running for both office as Paul ryan, rubio and others are more likely to do that as well.

[philipped]

RAND FOR PRESIDENT
AND
MASSIE TO TAKE HIS SENATE SEAT

[RonPaulMall]

The only conflict comes after he wins the Republican nomination. He would then have to give up running for the Senate in order to run for President in the general election.

I would hate to lose him in the Senate... but by then he'd have around a 50-50 shot at being President. It's a gamble but it does have a pretty big payoff.

He doesn't have to have his name on the ballot for President in Kentucky at all. His wife can run, or somebody like Jim Bunning can run in his place. Getting the law changed would be the simplest solution, but it is no biggie if it is not.