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Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is considering an April 7 launch date for his presidential run, an aide confirms to NBC News.

The plan under consideration would include "a swing through early states" immediately following the announcement, the person added.

The date was first reported by the New York Times.

An early April announcement would allow Paul to be officially in the presidential race for nearly the entirety of a Federal Election Commission fundraising quarter, thus maximizing his cash haul's total in the much-watched quarterly reports due at the end of June.

Paul hopes to broaden the libertarian base championed by his father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, to include more Republicans who espouse mainstream conservative ideals on domestic policy but are weary of the party's traditionally hawkish foreign policy stances.

In a recent set of NBC News/Marist polls, Paul captured seven percent of the potential GOP electorate in the key nominating states of Iowa and South Carolina. And he garnered 14 percent support in New Hampshire.

First published February 18 2015, 6:22 AM

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Rand Paul Considers April 7 Launch Date for Presidential Run

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Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has said his decision to run for the Republican nomination will be based on two things -- his family and whether he can lift America's spirit. His father and brother formerly served as President.

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Hillary Clinton continues to have an overwhelming lead over other possible 2016 Democratic presidential candidates. Although the former first lady and secretary of state has not said whether she'll run, a group of PACs and advocacy organizations have begun the process of raising money and aiding a hypothetical campaign.

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Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin is considered a possible Republican candidate, but he told CNN that his priority is to first help the GOP capture the Senate in next November's midterms.

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Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said recently it's too early to announce whether he'll run. Jindal has said he wants to focus on "winning the war of ideas" before making a decision on his presidential ambitions.

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Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee member Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asserts an objection to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a Democratic sponsor of the long-stalled Keystone XL pipeline bill, as the committee met to advance the controversial project, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

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Rand Paul spokesman: 'No announcement plans at this time'

Sen. Rand Paul is reportedly set to announce his presidential campaign in April. And(timing!) his supporters are happily pointingto newQuinnipiac polls of three key swing states, which show for a change that a Republican is running neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton.

That Republican, of course,is Paul.

Of particular interest are the results inColorado and Virginia, where Clinton narrowly leads Paul 43-41 percent and 44-42 percent, respectively within the margin of error. No other Republican is so close in the three states polled the third being Iowa. And that includes Jeb Bush, who is tied in Virginia but lags in the two other states.

A sampling of the Twitter analysis:

All the usual caveats of early polling, of course, apply here. This poll predicts nothing, but it does give a sense of *very early* views of the candidates.

And thoughit's a good picture for Paul, it's also not that surprising. Colorado and Virginia, after all,should be some of his better states.

The former is known as the birthplace of the American libertarian movement. And a 2009 study from George Mason University ranked it as the second most-libertarian state in the country when it cameto "personal and economic freedom."

And Virginia, while not renowned for its libertarian streak, per se, gave Ron Paul 40 percent of the vote in his 2012 primary match-up with Mitt Romney his best showing in any state. It's worth qualifying that they were the only two candidatesonVirginia's ballot (in contrast to other contests around that time) making Ron Paul the only so-called non-Romney option and likely inflating his total at least somewhat. But 40 percent for a Paul is still 40 percent for a Paul.

And there's plenty of evidence of Virginia moving more toward libertarianism, up to and including Robert Sarvis, who had the third-best showing ever for a libertarian gubernatorial candidate in Virginia's 2013 governor's race.

None of this, we would emphasize, is to diminish Paul's case for electability. In fact, it's part and parcel of it. That's because both of these states and other more libertarian stateslike Nevada and New Hampshire arguably the most libertarian state in the country just happen to beswing states in 2016. And Republicans would love to have a candidate who runs well in these states. Paul could be that guy, at least in theory.

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The Fix: Rand Pauls libertarian electability argument and its limits

Sen. Rand Paul is reportedly set to announce his presidential campaign in April. And(timing!) his supporters are happily pointingto newQuinnipiac polls of three key swing states, which show for a change that a Republican is running neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton.

That Republican, of course,is Paul.

Of particular interest are the results inColorado and Virginia, where Clinton narrowly leads Paul 43-41 percent and 44-42 percent, respectively within the margin of error. No other Republican is so close in the three states polled the third being Iowa. And that includes Jeb Bush, who is tied in Virginia but lags in the two other states.

A sampling of the Twitter analysis:

All the usual caveats of early polling, of course, apply here. This poll predicts nothing, but it does give a sense of *very early* views of the candidates.

And thoughit's a good picture for Paul, it's also not that surprising. Colorado and Virginia, after all,should be some of his better states.

The former is known as the birthplace of the American libertarian movement. And a 2009 study from George Mason University ranked it as the second most-libertarian state in the country when it cameto "personal and economic freedom."

And Virginia, while not renowned for its libertarian streak, per se, gave Ron Paul 40 percent of the vote in his 2012 primary match-up with Mitt Romney his best showing in any state. It's worth qualifying that they were the only two candidatesonVirginia's ballot (in contrast to other contests around that time) making Ron Paul the only so-called non-Romney option and likely inflating his total at least somewhat. But 40 percent for a Paul is still 40 percent for a Paul.

And there's plenty of evidence of Virginia moving more toward libertarianism, up to and including Robert Sarvis, who had the third-best showing ever for a libertarian gubernatorial candidate in Virginia's 2013 governor's race.

None of this, we would emphasize, is to diminish Paul's case for electability. In fact, it's part and parcel of it. That's because both of these states and other more libertarian stateslike Nevada and New Hampshire arguably the most libertarian state in the country just happen to beswing states in 2016. And Republicans would love to have a candidate who runs well in these states. Paul could be that guy, at least in theory.

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The Fix: Is Rand Paul the GOPs Great Libertarian Hope against Clinton? Yes and no.

Sen. Rand Paul is reportedly set to announce his presidential campaign in April. And(timing!) his supporters are happily pointingto newQuinnipiac polls of three key swing states, which show for a change that a Republican is running neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton.

That Republican, of course,is Paul.

Of particular interest are the results inColorado and Virginia, where Clinton narrowly leads Paul 43-41 percent and 44-42 percent, respectively within the margin of error. No other Republican is so close in the three states polled the third being Iowa. And that includes Jeb Bush, who is tied in Virginia but lags in the two other states.

A sampling of the Twitter analysis:

All the usual caveats of early polling, of course, apply here. This poll predicts nothing, but it does give a sense of *very early* views of the candidates.

And thoughit's a good picture for Paul, it's also not that surprising. Colorado and Virginia, after all,should be some of his better states.

The former is known as the birthplace of the American libertarian movement. And a 2009 study from George Mason University ranked it as the second most-libertarian state in the country when it cameto "personal and economic freedom."

And Virginia, while not renowned for its libertarian streak, per se, gave Ron Paul 40 percent of the vote in his 2012 primary match-up with Mitt Romney his best showing in any state. It's worth qualifying that they were the only two candidatesonVirginia's ballot (in contrast to other contests around that time) making Ron Paul the only so-called non-Romney option and likely inflating his total at least somewhat. But 40 percent for a Paul is still 40 percent for a Paul.

And there's plenty of evidence of Virginia moving more toward libertarianism, up to and including Robert Sarvis, who had the third-best showing ever for a libertarian gubernatorial candidate in Virginia's 2013 governor's race.

None of this, we would emphasize, is to diminish Paul's case for electability. In fact, it's part and parcel of it. That's because both of these states and other more libertarian stateslike Nevada and New Hampshire arguably the most libertarian state in the country just happen to beswing states in 2016. And Republicans would love to have a candidate who runs well in these states. Paul could be that guy, at least in theory.

Read more:
Is Rand Paul the GOPs Great Libertarian Hope against Clinton? Yes and no.