Rand Paul biography

He began hinting that he might run for the seat of retiring Kentucky U.S. Senator Jim Bunning. On December 16, 2009—the 236th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party—Paul announced his intention to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate. He had never before sought political office. "If there's ever a year for an outsider who has never held office before, this is the year," Paul told the crowd gathered in Russellville, Kentucky. He ran on a platform that mixed traditional Libertarian issues,

like reducing taxes and the size of government, with socially conservative policies like a federal ban on abortion.

In the Kentucky Republican primary, Paul was up against Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, the protégé of powerful Senator Mitch McConnell. Though Grayson had been backed by McConnell and other Republican luminaries like former Vice President Dick Cheney, Paul's grassroots campaign attracted endorsements from such influential figures as Steve Forbes, Focus on the Family's James Dobson and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. On May 18, 2010, Paul won the primary in a resounding upset victory, defeating Grayson by 24 points.

Immediately after his win, Paul faced intense national criticism for current and past comments that critics viewed as ideologically radical. He was particularly criticized for his suggestion that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was too broad in scope and should not apply to business. He later clarified that he would have supported the act had he been in the Senate at that time, and then stepped out of the public spotlight for a while to repair the public damage, pulling out of scheduled appearances, including one on Meet the Press.

Serving as Senator

Paul faced Democratic Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway in the November 2010 general election and emerged victorious, becoming Kentucky's junior senator in January 2011. His victory was the first major win for a candidate so closely identified with the Tea Party.

Rand has focused on a range of issues since beginning his term in 2010, including reducing federal debt, cutting Social Security benefits and lifting restrictions to businesses created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A resolution introduced by Rand to overturn EPA-initiated power plant pollution rules was blocked in the Senate in November 2011.

In the spring of 2012, media speculation began to center around the possibility of Paul becoming the Republican pick as a running mate for former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In February 2012, he stated that he would be "honored" to be considered as Romney's vice president. In May 2012, Paul received some media backlash for stating at a Faith & Freedom event in Iowa that he wasn't sure that President Obama's marriage views "could get any gayer." He later added that he didn't mean to preach to citizens, he just wanted to voice his support for traditional marriage.

Paul again made headlines in 2013 with his nearly 13-hour-long filibuster speech in the Senate. Taking the floor, he spoke against the confirmation of John Brennan as the new head of the CIA. Paul also took this opportunity to voice his objections to President Barack Obama's policy of using unmanned drone strikes against terrorists. Brennan has been involved in helping to shape this policy as a counterterrorism advisor to the president. While he knew he couldn't stop Brennan's appointment to the CIA post, Paul hoped that his filibustering efforts would lead to greater debate on limiting the president's power to order such strikes. "No president has the right to say he is judge, jury and executioner," Paul said, according to CBS News.

© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.