Rand Paul: ‘I Am Running for President’

Earlier this morning, the 2016 presidential campaign gained a new candidate for the Republican nomination when Kentucky senator Rand Paul announced, “I am running for president to return our country to the principles of liberty and limited government.” This announcement doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, since, as reported earlier on Inquistr, he has been in the running for a presidential candidacy for some time.

In a YouTube video posted just two days earlier, Paul has self proclaimed himself as a different type of politician who has the solution to some of America’s greatest problems today. The premise of his campaign is slated to “defeat the Washington machine and unleash the American dream.”

His efforts to stand out from his competitors hasn’t gone unnoticed, as he’s gained considerable approval from key Republican states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina for the Republican nomination, with more approval forecasted as he visits other Republican-dominant states.

Preceding his decision to run for president, Paul had a relatively short run as a politician, entering the realm with the Tea Party movement. Thanks to his involvement, he rode into politics on a wave, winning the election to Kentucky’s senate in 2010. Though his career is short, according to the New York Times, Republican strategists are claiming that the platforms he has been building since his election “are some of the most extensive political operations in the sates that will vote first in the party’s nominating process.”

Before his short, but groundbreaking time in politics, Paul was an ophthalmologist. He graduated from Duke Medical School in 1988 and began his own ophthalmology practice in 1995 at The Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic, which is an organization that performs medial eye services to the needy. He practiced eye surgery for 18 years before giving up his practice and moving to politics where he believed he could make a real difference.

Did he know at that time that in just five years he would be a popular candidate for the upcoming presidential election? During his time as senator, his standing on political issues is different to say the least. Though he sticks to the traditional Republican stance on several social issues, such as same-sex marriage and abortion, his views on government involvement and policies on warfare is a little different, which may or may not help his case.

Many have referred to his political opinions as “Democrat-lite,” insinuating that though he still has strong beliefs in certain Republican stances, he has the potential to turn into a Democrat as his beliefs progress. This new view on events will cause him to be either a target or an outlier among others who will be running for president in the upcoming election. Only time will reveal his true supporters.

[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]