True, Kentucky’s law means Paul is theoretically eligible to run for president in other states, but he cannot appear as a senator and presidential candidate on the state’s ballot. And although Paul has claimed in the past that he intends to run for re-election to the Senate, recent behavior clearly indicates that he is interested in the White House.

This is almost certainly why Paul has lobbied to have Kentucky lawmakers pass a measure that would allow him to run for president as a senator. He wants it both ways, to have something to fall back on in the event his campaign for the White House fails.

Paul came close to having it his way. The state’s Republican-controlled Senate passed a fix that would have allowed him to run for both offices simultaneously, but it came up short thanks to the Democratic-controlled House.