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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky -- Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, made his presidential bid official Tuesday afternoon, laying out his vision to restore liberty and freedom to Americans. He's building his candidacy on a strong national defense, a flat tax, school choice, an end to government surveillance, and the "defeat" of the "Washington machine," and over the next few months he'll have the opportunity to see how receptive voters are to his plans for the country.

Paul's fight against big government has been a central theme ever since he ran a successful campaign for the Senate here five years ago. And although many dismissed Paul as a long shot candidate, his message proved to be well-suited to the moment.

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says in order for the tea party to succeed politically, "We have to reach out to more people."

"It was a time when people were somewhat beginning to feel that the Obama administration was overreaching," recalled Dr. Dewey Clayton, a professor of political science at the University of Louisville who has watched Paul's career rise. "They were seeing government taking a larger role in their lives."

In fact, voter sentiment against the Obama administration was felt nationwide: 2010 was a year which saw Republicans gain six seats in the Senate, winning four open seats and beating two Democratic incumbents. Although Democrats held onto control of the Senate, Republicans won more senate races than they had at any time since 1994. But 2010 was also a year that saw the rise of the Tea Party movement.

It was clear that a Republican would take over the Kentucky seat vacated by Sen. Jim Bunning, who retired when he saw support for his reelection wane among those in his party's leadership. The party liked Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson for the job - GOP Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed Grayson two weeks before the primary. But Paul beat his opponent by more than 20 points. He won the general election as an outsider with just shy of 56 percent of the vote.

Dr. Brian Strow, who served as one of Paul's economic advisors during his Senate bid, sees a similar opening now for a non-establishment candidate on the national stage.

"If people are tired of a dynasty, this guy is the polar opposite," he said. "He's not the career politician."

Much of Paul's adult life revolved around politics, although not his own career. Paul, still a practicing opthamologist, owes years of his political experience to his father, former Texas congressman and two-time presidential hopeful Ron Paul. The younger Paul appeared alongside the elder Paul at campaign stops in 2007 and 2008, and at times went solo as his surrogate, giving the impression that Paul has always been comfortable on the national stage.

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Rand Paul revisits 2010 message in his 2016 presidential bid

LOUISVILLE Sen. Rand Paul, the maverick first-term senator who rode a tea party wave from a Kentucky ophthalmology practice to Congress, made a vigorous appeal Tuesday to conservatives angry with both parties as he entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Unveiling his campaign at a hotel ballroom here, Paul offered himself as a singular voice and fresh-faced disrupter of the entrenched political order.

Pauls appeal was rooted in part in the purist libertarian plank championed for decades by his father, former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. But the senator also seeks to move beyond his fathers base by stitching together a nontraditional coalition among disparate blocs of voters who share frustration with the federal governments role in their lives, whether evangelicals, tea party activists or tech-savvy millennials.

Paul pledged to be a combative envoy in a crowded and competitive GOP field that is likely to feature at least a half-dozen formidable candidates.

[Watch Rand Paul: We have come to take our country back.]

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) officially announced his campaign for president in 2016 in his home state of Kentucky. Here are his full remarks. (AP)

I have a message, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We have come to take our country back, Paul said at the start of a 30-minute speech heavy on populism. We have come to take our country back from the special interests that use Washington as their personal piggy bank.

Flanked by American flags, Paul, 52, emphasized inclusion for a party that has struggled to adapt to national demographic changes and has fumbled the past two presidential elections. While the setting was one of a classic launch a dark-suited, flag-pin-wearing senator speaking on a ballroom stage Paul said he would reach out to all Americans who have tuned out of the political process and have become weary of partisanship.

Paul fleshed out pillars of his emerging, eclectic platform: amending the Constitution to require a balanced federal budget and congressional term limits, offering school choice for students, making investments in the nations highways and bridges, and repealing any law that disproportionately incarcerates people of color.

The message of liberty, opportunity and justice is for all Americans, whether you wear a suit, a uniform or overalls, whether youre white or black, rich or poor, Paul said. Many Americans, though, are being left behind. The reward of work seems beyond their grasp. Under the watch of both parties, the poor seem to get poorer and the rich get richer.

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Rand Paul launches 2016 bid as a fresh-faced disrupter in the field

Sen. Rand Paul (R) officially announced his campaign for president in his home state of Kentucky. Here are his full remarks. (AP)

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky launched his bid for the White House on Tuesday as the most distinctive voice in the Republican Partys presidential field. The competition ahead will answer whether his candidacy can remake his party or will be undone by the orthodoxies he seeks to upend.

Pauls announcement speech was a reminder of why he often has been called the most interesting politician in the country, with a libertarian message that seemed to sweep across the ideological spectrum and that challenged the establishment of both parties.

But the address underscored as well the challenge Paul faces in trying to take the many pieces of his vision and convert them into a cohesive whole capable of attracting a winning coalition. On domestic and especially foreign policy, he will find himself under attack from his Republican rivals.

[Rand Paul launches 2016 bid: We have come to take our country back]

In his speech, the first-term senator wore many hats. He was part tea party activist, with a revival of the strong anti-government message that propelled him to victory in the 2010 Senate primary against the Kentucky GOP establishment led by Mitch McConnell, now the Senate majority leader.

I have a message, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words, Paul thundered as he took the stage before an enthusiastic audience of supporters. We are here to take our country back.

He painted his candidacy in vivid symbolism. We need to go boldly forth, he said, under the banner of liberty that clutches the Constitution in one hand and the Bill of Rights in the other.

He decried spending and deficits and the power of lobbyists and insiders, with a sign on the lectern that read, Defeat the Washington Machine. He said Washington is horribly broken and called for a constitutional amendment to balance the budget and for term limits for members of Congress.

But if he was a small-government tea party reformer, he was also channeling Jack Kemp, the late Buffalo Republican congressman and housing secretary who preached outreach to minorities and aid and assistance to inner cities and rarely worried about deficits.

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Balz: For Rand Paul, is it enough to be distinctive?

Last Updated Apr 7, 2015 1:08 PM EDT

Rand Paul announced his bid for president Tuesday, telling supporters, "Today begins the journey to take America back."

"Today I announce with God's help, with the help of liberty lovers everywhere, that I am putting myself forward as a candidate for the president of the United States of America," Paul said.

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Sen. Rand Paul announced his bid for the White House at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky. CBS news political director John Dickerson, elections di...

The Kentucky senator's announcement speech in Louisville Tuesday touched on several topics that will frame his campaign, including criticism of special interests and career politicians, the surveillance state, a call for a balanced budget amendment, and closing the income gap.

"We cannot and must not give up on our message or dilute our principles," Paul said. "If we nominate a candidate who is simply Democrat-light, what's the point? Why bother? We need to boldly proclaim our vision for America."

Paul converted his website into a campaign website, randpaul.com, earlier Tuesday. And his political action committee sent a long email imploring supporters to contribute anywhere from $10 to $500 for a "Stand With Rand Money Bomb." Paul has used this fundraising technique in the past to collect small-dollar donations online from grassroots supporters.

"The media tells us -- if our Republican Party has any hope of defeating Hillary Clinton -- you and I should choose a nominee with a track record full of sellouts, compromises and Big Government betrayals. So even though I'm at or near the top of every state poll for the nomination, they continue to try and dismiss my message of liberty and limited government!" the appeal reads.

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Rand Paul: "We have come to take our country back"

Sen. Rand Paul announced a run for the White House Tuesday, with a campaign launch that aimed to expand the GOPs tent while stressing classic Republican themes of limited government and fiscal responsibility.

In a mid-morning speech in Louisville, the Kentucky Republican began by paraphrasing a victory speech from his 2010 Senate primary victory, in which he defeated a candidate backed by the states GOP establishment.

I have a message, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We have come to take our country back, he said. Less than five years ago I stood just down the road in home town in Bowling Green and said those same words. I wasnt supposed to win, no one thought I would.

(The original speech was slightly different, as Paul had then begun by saying that he had he had a message from the Tea Party.)

Read More: Excerpts of Pauls Remarks

Paul was introduced by an array of speakers, including former Republican Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma; Rev. Jerry Stephenson, who leads an inner-city ministry; and University of Kentucky student Lauren Bosler, and his wife, Kelley, among others.

His speech also contained several nods to his hopes to expand the Republican coalition to include younger voters and more ethnic diversity.

This message of liberty is for all Americans, Americans from all walks of life, he said. The message of liberty, opportunity and justice is for all Americans, whether you wear a suit, a uniform or overalls, whether youre white or black, rich or poor.

At the same time, Paul ticked off several proposals from the standard Republican toolkit, including a constitutional amendment to force Congress to balance the budget, term limits for members of Congress and increasing school choice.

We cannot, we must not dilute our message or give up on our principles, he said. If we nominate a candidate who is simply Democrat Light, whats the point?

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Rand Paul Kicks Off 2016 Campaign