The Michigan congressman, only 32, sees himself as a leader of “the second generation” of Paulites in the lower chamber. Sen. Rand Paul moved quickly to present himself as his dad’s heir to libertarian faithful in recent months, but many in the movement see Amash as even purer than the younger Paul, and he’s gotten rave reviews for explaining all his votes on Facebook. …

Now, with the opening of a Senate seat in Michigan, Amash must decide whether to pursue his dream of one day winning a spot in House leadership or to take a chance at winning statewide — and risk losing it all. …

“If I feel like I can make a bigger impact in the Senate, then that’s something I would certainly take a look at,” Amash said in an extended interview in his House office last week. “But it’s gone Democratic in a lot of federal elections, so you have to consider it very carefully.” …

“Ron Paul was an educational figure. He was out there really presenting things that others had not been talking about,” he said. “This next generation of liberty Republicans, like Rand Paul and Mike Lee and Thomas Massie and Raul Labrador, we’re interested in making sure that … we re-brand the Republican Party as a place that is welcoming to people from across the political spectrum and follows the founding principles of our country: limited government, economic freedom, individual liberty.”