Sen. Rand Paul said he is considering another run for president in 2028, saying the decision is still up in the air as he weighs the political landscape. The Kentucky Republican said the odds are currently “50-50” and that he plans to decide after the next election cycle.
“We’re thinking about it, and I would say 50-50,” Paul said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “We’ll make a decision after the election,” The New York Post reported.
Paul, a longtime libertarian-leaning conservative, said he is concerned about the direction of the Republican Party. He argued the party has moved away from its traditional free-market roots toward a more populist approach.
“There used to really be a free market/Libertarian wing of the party, and now there’s not much left,” Paul said. “In fact, on many days it’s me in the Senate, the only one left for free trade.”
Paul suggested there may still be a political path forward for a coalition of libertarian voters and the business community. He said combining those groups could create a different direction for the GOP moving forward.
“But I think there still is a desire among business for it,” Paul said. “There may be a force out there for a different direction from the party other than being continued to be led by populism.”
Paul previously ran for president in 2016 but dropped out after finishing fifth in the Iowa caucuses. Since then, he has frequently broken with President Donald Trump on issues including tariffs, foreign policy, and federal spending.
In recent months, Paul has also opposed some administration priorities, including military actions and key nominations. His positions have highlighted ongoing divisions within the Republican Party over policy and direction.
Republicans and right-leaning independents still like Vice President JD Vance the best for the next presidential primary, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved up in a new Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll.
The poll asked 952 Republicans and 225 independents who lean Republican from all over the country to choose from 15 well-known conservative politicians or to pick “someone else” or “not sure.”
The current vice president, Vance, was the clear winner, with 36% of people choosing him. He got almost twice as many votes as Donald Trump Jr., who came in second with 19%. Another 14% said they weren’t sure, bringing the total to 70% of all respondents.
But both Vance and Trump Jr. lost some support since a similar October Voters’ Voice Poll. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on the other hand, gained ground.
Rubio only got 9% of the vote, but he was the third choice on the list and the second most popular candidate among independent voters.
This comes as President Trump asked a group of donors at his Mar-a-Lago estate for their thoughts about Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“What do you think of JD Vance and Marco Rubio?” Trump asked, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, donors applauded loudly for Rubio. The applause for Rubio was reportedly louder than the reaction for Vance. The informal poll came one day after Trump placed Rubio prominently in the administration’s public posture.
Trump noted Monday during a press conference in Florida that Vance had been “less enthusiastic” about going to war with Iran. Trump also described differences in the way the two men approach politics and diplomacy.
“He gets a little bit tough on occasion; we gotta slow him down on occasion,” Trump said about Vance.
Trump then contrasted that approach with Rubio’s style. “Then we have the opposite extreme,” Trump said.