Sen. Rand Paul's wife hesitant about White House bid

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

Sen. Rand Paul's wife doesn't sound like she is completely on board with her husband running for president in 2016.

Kelley Ashby shared her concerns in a lengthy Vogue profile of Paul, a Kentucky Republican and Tea Party favorite who is considering a White House bid.

"Because in this day and age it's mostly about character assassination," Ashby is quoted as saying in Vogue. "When I think of the tens of millions of dollars in opposition research that they'd be aiming right at us and our family — that's what it's about."

It's not unusual for spouses of candidates to be concerned about the grueling — and often intrusive — national campaign. Former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels, a Republican, decided not to run in 2012, in part because of the impact a presidential race would have on his wife, Cheri, and their family. John McCain's wife, Cindy, once wrote that the experience was "like being catapulted off an aircraft carrier: They fling you off and they expect you to fly."

Carol Paul, the senator's mother and the wife of a former presidential candidate, told the magazine that Paul's White House bid in 2016 "feels real" even though her husband — former Texas congressman Ron Paul — believes "it's terribly early to be starting a campaign."

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