Senator Rand Paul is ‘50-50’ on running for president in 2028

The US Senator from Kentucky made the comments in a "CBS Sunday Morning" interview that is set to air on Sunday. When asked if he was thinking about running for president, he said, "We're thinking about it. I would say 50-50."

He talked about the changes that he has seen in the Republican Party and how he would focus on that if he were to run. "There used to really be a free market/libertarian wing of the party, and now there's not much left," Paul said in the interview. "In fact, on many days, it's me in the Senate, the only one left for free trade."

"But I think there still is a desire among business for it, and it may make the so-called libertarian vote — which might not be big enough to ever win anything — if you combine that with the Chamber of Commerce and the traditional business community that doesn't like protectionism, there may be a force out there for a different direction from the party other than being continued to be led by populism," Paul added during the interview.

He expects to make a final decision about whether he will run or not after the 2026 midterm elections. Paul has previously run for the high office. He ran in 2016 but ended his campaign after the Iowa caucuses. The Kentucky senator was first elected to office in 2010 and has been elected two times.

Paul has split with the Republican majority in the Senate on a number of occasions; a couple of examples in recent memory include voting against the One Big Beautiful Bill as well as supporting efforts to curb presidential powers with the Iran conflict.