Mediaboss Marketing

LEXINGTON, Ky, (WKYT) - As talk swirls about Sen. Rand Pauls possible presidential bid, a new Bluegrass Poll finds more likely Kentucky voters think he should bow out of politics rather than run for re-election or the presidency.

The poll conducted for WKYT-TV, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Louisville Courier-Journal, and WHAS-TV found 30 percent of Kentuckians dont think Kentuckys junior senator should run for any political office in 2016.

Senator Paul has a lot on the line heading into 2016, and Kentuckians are giving him some mixed signals, WKYT political editor Bill Bryant said. Of course most of the 30 percent who say he shouldnt run for anything likely oppose his political stands and any candidate has that. But the other numbers dont give him much guidance because voters appear split when it comes to their desires for his options.

As Paul considers a 2016 presidential run, 19 percent of Kentuckians polled say they think he should make a run for the White House while 19 percent prefer for him to run re-election to the Senate. Under current state laws, he cant run for both offices which are up during the same election. However, 23 percent of those polled think he should be able to run for both simultaneously.

The Bluegrass Poll also found the overwhelming majority of likely voters do not support state lawmakers changing state laws to allow Paul an exception.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is supporting Paul's effort to create a Kentucky presidential caucus in 2016, which would allow Paul to run for president and re-election to his Senate seat simultaneously. The caucus means Paul would not be on the ballot twice in the same election which is barred by Kentucky law.

McConnell was initially skeptical about the idea, but changed his mind after Paul told him it would be a one-time event and he would raise money to pay for it, according to a statement from McConnell's Chief of Staff Brian McGuire first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The move only affects the primary election. Paul would likely need a court order for the general election should he win the Republican presidential nomination.

Paul said he is likely to announce whether he'll run for president in 2016 sometime by the end of April.

Elected in 2010, Paul has been an outspoken critic in Washington on topics ranging from federal spending to health care.

See original here:
Bluegrass Poll: Kentuckians aren't keen to Rand Paul presidential bid