By Sam Barron
Friday, March 27, 2026
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said he is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, describing his likelihood as “50-50” in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning scheduled to air this Sunday.
In the interview, Paul discussed what he described as changes within the Republican Party. “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.”
But Paul added that he believes combining the so-called libertarian vote—described as “not big enough to ever win anything”—with the Chamber of Commerce and traditional business groups opposed to protectionism could create a force steering the party away from populism. “There may be a force out there for a different direction from the party other than being continued to be led by populism,” he said.
Paul stated he expects to make a final decision after the 2026 midterm elections. The senator previously ran for president in 2016 but withdrew following his loss at the Iowa caucuses. First elected to the Senate in 2010, Paul has since been reelected twice and has at times broken with President Donald Trump on policy matters.
Paul voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year and supported efforts to limit presidential war powers related to Iran. He also voted against the confirmation of Senator Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to lead the Department of Homeland Security. During the confirmation process, Paul confronted Mullin over past comments regarding a 2017 dispute between Paul and his neighbor in which Paul was injured.
Paul’s father, Ron Paul, ran for president three times—once as a Libertarian in 1988 and twice for the Republican nomination in 2008 and 2012.
