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In 2012, Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul was a force to be reckoned with in the presidential race. His group of supporters - including many young voters - was limited, but passionate. Though he wasn't considered a serious contender for the Republican nomination, he had a strong showing in both the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, finishing third in Iowa with 21.5 percent of the vote and second in New Hampshire with 22.9 percent.

Now his son, Texas Sen. Rand Paul, is contemplating his own presidential bid. Both men come from the libertarian wing of the party, though Doug Wead, who has worked for both Pauls, calls the elder Paul a "classic libertarian" and the younger one a "practical libertarian."

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CBS News Political Director John Dickerson talks about Sen. Rand Paul's day of meeting with people in New Hampshire -- even though he won't make ...

And while Ron Paul was generally viewed as someone who ran for president to prove a point, his son could be a serious contender for the nomination. What he has to do is navigate the tricky dance of keeping his father's supporters engaged and on his side while attracting a whole other group of voters who might not have given Ron Paul a chance.

"His dad's base is not going to be enough,so he's got to find ways to expand the base and become, if not the favorite of different factions of the party, at least acceptable," University of New Hampshire Political Science Professor Dante Scala told CBS News. "He has to do that in such a way that doesn't make his father's base voters feel as if they're being betrayed or that Ron Paul's legacy is being compromised."

Politics isn't the first arena where Paul has followed in his father's footsteps. Like Ron Paul, who had a medical career that preceded his first run for office, Rand Paul also started out in the field of medicine. He was always active in politics, serving in the Young Conservatives of Texas club during college at Baylor University. He left for Duke University to attend medical school before completing his undergraduate degree, and he opened an ophthalmology practice in Bowling Green, Kentucky, after he completed his residency.

All the while, though, Paul was helping his father with his congressional campaign and 2008 presidential bid, and he started a group called the Kentucky Taxpayers Union in his home state. His rise coincided with the rise of the tea party in 2009, and in 2010 he defeated Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, the establishment pick for Kentucky's vacant Senate seat, to become a senator.

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ken.) used old-school filibuster tactics, speaking for 12 hours and 52 minutes to hold-up John Brennan's CIA nomination. CBS Ne...

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Rand Paul's balancing act: What to do with Ron Paul's legacy?

Sen. Rand Paul has been looking for a way to run for president and for re-election to the Senate at the same time in 2016, and his complex strategy got a boost Tuesday when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) shelved his qualms and agreed to support his colleagues proposal to get around state law to run for both offices.

In a shift first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader, a McConnell aide said the senator had decided to support Mr. Pauls proposal that the Kentucky GOP establish a presidential selection caucus in March separate from the states May primary for other offices. That would allow him to be in both contests without violating a state law that prohibits candidates from appearing twice on one ballot.

Mr. Paul has asked the Kentucky GOP to consider the proposal when its central committee meets March 7 about a month before the senator is expected to announce his presidential candidacy. He is also up for re-election to the Senate in 2016 and has said he wants to run for both offices a pragmatic nod to the fact that he is still considered a long shot for the White House.

In asking the party to allow him to run for both offices, Mr. Paul cites laws in other states such as Wisconsin, which allowed Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) in 2012 to run both for re-election to the House as he also ran as his partys vice presidential nominee.

Mr. McConnell, whose top political priority is retaining GOP control of the Senate in 2016, had remained silent on the Paul proposal. Some Republicans have raised questions about whether holding a caucus would complicate other state races, cost too much money, or make it harder for the party to hold onto his Senate seat. If Mr. Paul were to win the partys nomination in summer of 2016, it would be too late for the GOP to put another Senate candidate on the November ballot.

After Mr. McConnell discussed the issue at length with Mr. Paul Monday, Mr. McConnells chief of staff Brian McGuireon Tuesday issued a statement saying Senator McConnells initial reaction to the caucus proposal could best be described as respectful skepticism, but after a lengthy discussion of the details with Senator Paul he has become convinced that switching from a primary to a caucus is worth his support.

Not only would it be helpful to the senators presidential campaign but, as a one-time event paid for with funds that hed raise, would do no damage to the state party or interfere with this years state races, Mr. McGuire said.

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Mitch McConnell Backs Rand Pauls Bid to Run for Both Senate, White House

The All Progressives Congress has described as untenable and an after-thought the statement credited to President Goodluck Jonathan as the reason why the Ekiti rigging audio tape has not been investigated, accusing the President of having something to hide on the issue.

In a statement in London on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the President was wrong to have said the rigging audio tape had not been investigated because the army captain, who leaked it, had not come forward to authenticate it.

It wondered whether the President would have toed the same line if the tape had revealed that the APC colluded with the military to rig the Ekiti election in favour of the APC candidate.

APC said the security agencies need no prodding or even a presidential directive to launch an investigation into a weighty issue that amounts to a subversion of democracy.

Some people were found to be undermining democracy using a powerful national institution like the military, and all the President could say is that there will be no investigation until the officer who secretly recorded the tape has come forward to authenticate it. What a disingenuous argument!

Is the President not aware that Capt. Sagir Koli, who recorded the tape, went into hiding because his life was in danger? Is the President not aware of the fate that befell Capt. Kolis 15-year-old younger brother who was arrested and tortured at a military facility in Ibadan over the issue? Does the President not appreciate the patriotism which the officer exhibited by exposing those who criminally subverted democracy? the party queried.

It wondered on what basis the President declared the audio tape a fabrication when he has now confessed that he has not even listened to it, and when almost all those who were at the rigging meeting, including Musiliu Obanikoro, Ayodele Fayose, Jelili Adesiyan and Iyiola Omisore, have now owned up to attending the meeting.

Unless President Jonathan is afraid of what an investigation into the tape may reveal, he should be in the forefront of those calling for an investigation. This is because, according to the major players in the rigging tape, the Ekiti rigging assignment was done expressly in the name of the President.

Obanikoro invoked the Presidents name, saying he sent him to clinch victory for the PDP in the Ekiti governorship election. Unless the statement made by Obanikoro is true, the President has no business seeking to delay, even for one day, the investigation into the very serious allegations contained in the tape. The presence of Capt. Koli is not a necessary pre-condition for an investigation into the rigging allegation.

We are therefore repeating our call for an urgent investigation of the Ekiti rigging audio and at the same time demanding that all those who are found to have willfully subverted democracy be tried for treason. For the avoidance of doubt, no matter how long it takes, we will ensure that all those involved in the Ekiti show of shame are brought to justice, APC said.

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APC faults Jonathans stance on Ekiti rigging tape

Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Mr. Gboyega Famoodun, has said the party is presenting Maj.- Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) as its Presidential candidate because of his integrity and due to the fact that the younger generation has failed the nation.

Famoodun, who said this at a press conference in Osogbo on Wednesday, stated that the younger generation represented by President Goodluck Jonathan, failed the nation in many areas.

He said the administration of Jonathan encouraged corruption and looting of treasury, saying this was why former governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo and Sanusi Lamido cried out that the nation was witnessing an unprecedented level of corruption.

He said, General Buhari is 72 and he is active, strong and mentally alert to lead the nation. We are presenting Buhari because of his antecedents and because we have been disappointed by the younger generation especially in the administration of President Jonathan.

Mandela came and rule South Africa at 76 and he did very well. The younger generation represented by Jonathan is not helping us. Buhari ruled at his younger days and he helped to salvage the economy. Buhari is a disciplined and forthright person; his detractors can even attest to this.

The APC leader urged Nigerians to discountenance the claims of Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, concerning Buhari, saying there was no sense in what the governor was saying.

Famoodun said the party had confidence that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, would conduct a free, fair and credible election but said that the Peoples Democratic Party had been putting many obstacles on his way.

Commenting on the support of the Afenifere and the two factions of the Oodua Peoples Congress for Jonathan, the APC chairman said their support was inconsequential.

He stated that the groups had no influence on the Yoruba people, saying the two factions of the OPC resolved their crisis to support Jonathan because of pecuniary benefits.

He commended the military for the renewed onslaught against the Boko Haram sects.

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Buharis emergence, result of younger generations failure -Osun APC

THE All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has said that the attack on its rally in Okrika by unidentified gunmen on February 17, 2015, was aimed at eliminating its governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.

The APC explained that the state would have been plunged into a crisis that would have been difficult to resolve if the gunmen had succeeded in hitting their target.

A statement signed by the Senior Special Adviser to the State Chairman of the party, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, indicated that the APC had catalogued the sins of the Peoples Democratic Party in readiness to petition the United Nations over its (APC) challenges in the state.

If they (unidentified gunmen) had succeeded, these enemies of our democracy would have pushed the state into an unprecedented crisis; the end of which no one could have predicted, the party said.

The State Deputy Chairman of the APC, Prince Peter Odika, who is the Chairman of the investigation committee on the political violence against the party, said the panel found the Peoples Democratic Party culpable of the ugly trend in the state.

Odika, whosubmitted the committees report to the State APC Chairman, Dr. Davies IbiamuIkanya, at the partys secretariat in Port Harcourt, said the team was able to list 150 sins committed against APC by the PDP ahead of the 2015 elections.

These sins revolve around attacks against APC faithful, billboards, and LG secretariats by the misguided PDP elements in Rivers State ahead of the March/April 2015 general elections, Odika said.

He appealed that the report should be treated with the urgency it deserved before the state was plunged into crisis that could kill APC members and supporters and truncate the nations nascent democracy.

Odika disclosed that at the top of the list was the violent disruption of APCs campaign rally in Okrika, which culminated in the death of a policeman.

Receiving the report, Ikanya congratulated Odika and his committee for a job well done. He assured them that the aim of setting up the committee would be actualized and insisted that the report would be sent to the United Nations, Amnesty International, ECOWAS and other major international bodies without delay.

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Peterside, target of Okrika shooting APC