Paul says he won't run if he can't win

Sen. Rand Paul is a near-certain presidential contender, but he stressed on Thursday that he won’t run a “quixotic” campaign.

Paul, the libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican, outlined his thinking on a presidential bid during an appearance on conservative media personality Sean Hannity’s radio show.


He reiterated that a final decision will come in the spring. Paul is still weighing family considerations, he said, but in the coming months will also continue to test whether his message appears to be “resonating.”

“If it looks like we’re at 1 percent, not in the top tier, [that it would be a] quixotic sort of run. I’m not going to do it just for educational purposes,” he said, adding that he would “want to be in to win.”

Earlier Thursday, Paul suggested to Breitbart News that likely GOP rival Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and an establishment favorite, is a moderate, according to that conservative publication’s write-up.

Asked about that statement by Hannity, Paul said the 2016 Republican primary contest will be a battle between conservatives and moderates, and that “we have room for moderates in the party, but their road to victory is more difficult.”

Paul was elected in 2010 as a conservative tea party candidate. He said that he will travel next week to the early-voting states of New Hampshire and Nevada.