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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said Friday that he is leaning toward a run for president and will likely make an announcement in his home state of Kentucky sometime in March or April.

"Anything that I do, you know I'm from Kentucky, will be in Kentucky," Paul told reporters following a speech in Louisville on Friday.

Hours later, he was in Alabama testing his pitch that the GOP's hopes depend on nominating "a different kind of Republican."

In a 30-minute speech at an Alabama Republican Party gala, Paul mixed conservative orthodoxy with positions and proposals that aren't typical themes of GOP gatherings.

"Your government has gotten so out of control that often we aren't in charge," he said. "The executive branch has become this monster with tentacles that reach into every aspect of your lives, and no one can stop it."

He called for steep cuts in taxes and spending, sidestepping details. He celebrated his role in a partial government shutdown in October 2013. "In Washington, everybody was clamoring, everybody was worrying," the senator said. "I went back home to Kentucky, and you know what they said? 'Why the hell did you open it back up?'"

Paul alluded to his repeated calls for sentencing reforms, though he didn't go into details, and told the overwhelmingly white audience that Republicans must reach more non-white voters if they want to reclaim the White House in 2016.

He also worked in blistering critiques of President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a potential 2016 Democratic nominee to succeed Obama.

Paul seeks to distinguish himself from a crowded Republican field with a delicate balancing act. He wants to maintain the loyal following that his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, enjoyed from libertarian-leaning Republicans in his presidential bids. But the younger Paul also wants to attract traditional Republicans, including cultural conservatives and business-minded conservatives who were wary of his father.

Then there's his push to expand the GOP's reach.

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Rand Paul: Presidential Announcement Likely in March ...