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DESTIN U.S. Sen. Rand Paul looked like a man on vacation when he and his wife slipped nearly unnoticed into Mama Clemenzas restaurant Monday evening.

Blue jeans and a sports jacket, no sign of an entourage of handlers. Just a guy come to see some friends who were paying $250 a plate for the pleasure of dining with him.

Perhaps Paul looked the part because he was living it. He was vacationing in Destin, same as his family has always done.

My big announcement is we love Destin and well keep coming back here for Spring Break like we have for the last 25 years, said the Kentucky senator when goaded by a reporter for word of his future plans.

Though recent polls show former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and its GOP U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as the favorites among state voters, Paul, who is yet to officially announce his plans to run for the presidency, isnt afraid of early numbers.

It will be competitive, he said. I think the vote will be divided a lot of different ways. Ive been a lot of places around the state and the reception has been good.

Pauls definitely got his fans. Carol Benson and Ken Ford drove from Panama City to be among the 28 who dined with him. Stewart Bugg came in from Pensacola.

We like that he has a Republican/Libertarian slant, Benson said. I think he has new, fresh ideas that speak to a younger generation.

Bugg said hes been voting Libertarian since 1988, and sent a check to help Paul win the Senate seat he holds.

And it wasnt all Republicans who came out to see Paul speak. Frank Day holds a position with the Walton County Democratic Party.

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Rand Paul meets with supporters in Destin