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Washington For two Republican senators from the same state, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell could not be more mismatched.

Senator Paul is a man in a hurry, with presidential stars in his eyes after a mere four years of serving Kentucky in Washington. The loquacious libertarian is a darling of young conservatives a relaxed jeans-and-boots kind of guy.

Senator McConnell, after three patient decades in office, has finally reached his dream job of Senate majority leader. A man of few words, hes from the establishment wing of the party. In Washington, he sometimes sports golden, presidential-seal cuff links.

I dont think any state has a more interesting pair of senators and a more influential pair of senators, says Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

Kentucky is one place in America where a tea-party firebrand and a Republican from the governance wing amicably meet though it's taken a recognition of mutual interests to make that happen. While their relationship could be dismissed as a political marriage of convenience, analysts say it's an example of how two people with different philosophies can come together once they get to know each other the way members of Congress from different parties used to for much of the 20th century.

Five years ago, Paul and McConnell were on opposite sides of a political battle. But since then, theyve forged a symbiotic relationship that, Paul hopes, will prove particularly useful to him at a critical juncture this weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, Paul will meet with Kentucky GOP leaders, and with a valuable nod of approval from Senator McConnell will ask them to switch from a presidential primary to caucuses. That would enable him to run for both the Senate and the presidency without running afoul of state law that forbids a name from appearing twice on a ballot.

Its a big ask, and questions about the idea abound. Doubtersworry about the logistical heavy lift, participation of voters, and risks to other party priorities at the self-serving request of one man.

Paul has a serious problem with the ballot law, and McConnell is helping him get around that, says Mr. Cross.

After overcoming earlier skepticism, McConnells approval of the idea, makes a lot of difference, says Cross. People were looking to him for leadership and hes provided it, and I think most of them will follow.

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Kentucky's odd couple: the symbiotic friendship of Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell