Paul pleads case to run for Kentucky senator simultaneously in exception to state law via a loophole previously exploited by Paul Ryan and Joe Biden

Senator Rand Paul plans to announce a run for president on 7 April, people close to the Kentucky congressman have told media outlets.

News of his long-expected announcement comes one week after Paul asked his home state to let him run for both the White House and re-election in 2016.

“Associates” of Paul suggested to the New York Times and Bloomberg that Kentucky’s junior senator hopes an early announcement will give him an edge. Declared candidates can fundraise directly for their campaigns, meaning such an early announcement would allow Paul to raise money almost a year before the Iowa caucuses that kick off primary season.

Other contenders, such as New Jersey governor Chris Christie and former Florida governor Jeb Bush, must solicit promises and work through Pacs and Super Pacs. Pacs have strict limits but can donate directly to a candidate; Super Pacs have no donation limits but cannot technically donate to or coordinate with a candidate. Bush has averaged one fundraiser event a day since he announced he would “explore” a bid in December, raising millions of dollars since then.

Paul already has more than $2.9m that he could funnel into his campaign.

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Paul has reportedly not finalized his plans pending talks with his family, including his father, libertarian icon and former senator Ron Paul. The senator must also decide how to handle a challenge in his home state: he faces re-election for his Senate seat in 2016 but Kentucky law forbids candidates from seeking two offices in the same election.

Last week the senator sent a letter to Kentucky Republicans with a proposal to circumvent the election law. Paul recommended that Republicans hold a presidential caucus before the scheduled election, so that he would technically only appear on the ballot once during the primary election in May 2016. Wisconsin allowed representative Paul Ryan a similar loophole in 2012, as has Delaware for vice-president Joe Biden, precedents that Paul alluded to: “This idea did not originate with me, or even in this current cycle.”

Paul made his ambitions plain as he pleaded to be made an exception. “My request to you is simply to be treated equally compared to other potential candidates for the presidency,” he wrote. “I believe I can keep helping the people of Kentucky as senator, but I think there is no doubt I could help them even more as president.”

He argued that Kentucky should make him an exception for its own good. Other states’ earlier Republican primaries, he suggested, mean that “by May 2016, the GOP will likely have decided its nominee, rendering [Kentucky’s] votes useless in deciding anything.”

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A caucus vote in his favor would boost his chances in the free-for-all of the Republican primary, in which every extra vote could provide an outsized advantage. With so many potential candidates, the field could easily split among establishment picks like Bush and Florida senator Marco Rubio versus Tea Party favorites such as Texas senator Ted Cruz and Wisconsin governor Scott Walker.

Paul also embedded a thinly disguised threat to challenge the law in court if necessary; he requested that the Republicans help him avoid a “costly and time-consuming legal challenge”.

On 7 March, Paul will meet with state party leaders in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where the senator’s family lives. Republicans fear that if Paul wins the presidential nomination they will lose his Senate seat, since the senator’s name could then not appear on the ballot to compete against a Democratic challenger in the November election.

Despite his active pursuit of the White House, Paul has also expressed ambivalence about the chores necessary to get there. Last week he gave reporters in Washington his review of the campaign process: “It’s not really a lot of fun.”