The Political Machinations That Could Allow Rand to Run for the Senate and President

Rand Paul and Kentucky Republicans are exploring the possibility of turning the state’s presidential primary into a caucus instead — a move that could allow him to run for both his Senate seat and president in 2016, reports Politico.

The preliminary discussions have begun in the wake of Kentucky Democrats retaining control of the statehouse in Tuesday’s elections. Democratic leaders of that chamber have already vowed not to change the law, hoping to force Rand to abandon his Senate seat in order to pursue the White House.

According to Politico, the law, as currently stated, says “no candidate’s name shall appear on any voting machine or absentee ballot more than once,” with the exception of certain special election scenarios.

A change in Kentucky’s May primary into a caucus system would be a snaky way for Rand to run for both positions since most caucuses do not vote by paper ballot, Rand could theoretically avoid that restriction in the law, according to Politico..

The change would require the approval of the state party’s governing body, which consists of local GOP officials, who would have to agree on the procedures and the costs of holding statewide caucuses. They would have to reach a decision by October 2015.