Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is working on a bill that will allow him and other politicians to run for both the Senate and the White House at the same time.
Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer told the Washington Times on Monday that Paul recently approached him with a proposal to campaign for both the presidency and a spot in the Senate simultaneously.
"Yes, I am working on clarifying an ambiguous state law that Rand Paul believes is unconstitutional if it is interpreted to bar running for re-election to the Senate and for president at the same time," Thayer said. "The purpose of the bill will be to make clear that Rand Paul or anyone in a similar situation in Kentucky can run for both offices in the same year."
Rand, who was elected as a Kentucky senator in 2010, is apparently trying to secure a spot in either one of the legislative bodies on Capitol Hill. If he wins the presidential nomination for 2016, he can run and still hold a place for himself in the U.S. Senate. If he doesn't win the presidential election but does win the Senate re-election, he will serve another term as Kentucky senator. He would have to give up his position in the Senate if he wins both the senator re-election bid and the presidency.
Although Paul hasn't given an official statement on his intentions, he did mention in a past "Newsmakers" episode on C-SPAN that he and his team were considering running for both the presidency and the Senate.
"We just haven't come to a conclusion yet," he told the Times.
Some are reportedly skeptical of the bill, including Democrat House Speaker Greg Stumbo.
"I've not spoken to the speaker about this and not heard publicly or privately what the Democrats in the House would do if Republicans passed it in the Senate," Thayer has said.
But Paul isn't the first politician to try running for two positions at one time - Rep. Paul Ryan, Sen. Joseph R. Biden and Sen. Joe Lieberman have all tried to be re-elected for Senate while making pushes for vice president.
