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Last Updated Jan 14, 2015 3:58 PM EST

Sure, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul may be welcoming Mitt Romney back into the fray for 2016 -- "the more, the merrier," he has said. And yes, Paul believes the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 GOP nominee would have been a better president than Barack Obama.

But in 2016, the Kentucky senator--who is weighing a run himself--said in an interview Wednesday, "When we choose who we are going to choose among the more the merrier, I think there is an argument to be made ...Governor Romney a month ago said, 'I've had my chance, it's time for somebody fresh and new.' And I kind of still tend to agree with what Governor Romney said."

I spoke with Paul in Manchester, New Hampshire, the second state that will vote in the 2016 nominating contests, where he is doing a series of events to get to know voters there.

The upshot for Paul is that Romney "couldn't attract enough people" to win the GOP nomination. Although he campaigned for Romney in 2012, Paul said the GOP needs to find a path to victory.

A winning constituency, he said, "has to be bigger and more diverse than we've ever had or we will not win or cannot win... there will be an argument for winnability, that we need to try something new."

Asked when he would announce his own plans for 2016, Paul said, "It's a maybe--and it's March or April."

Still, that timeline hasn't precluded Paul from building a campaign network, which he's been doing for months. He added two senior positions this week--a campaign manager for a potential 2016 campaign, Chip Englander, and a senior adviser, Chris LaCivita.

Paul recognizes that he's walking into a crowded field of contenders, but he says that he has a position that is "unique" in his party. He's concerned about the size of the debt and calls it, "the number one threat to our national security." He believes in what he calls a "more reasonable foreign policy," which he characterized as one that's "very judicious," in which "war's the last resort, and...we have to be worried about and wary of unintended consequences of getting involved in war that actually makes us less safe."

He was critical of many of his counterparts in Washington--both Democrat and Republican--for being too eager to put more American troops on the ground around the world. That was particularly true in the case of the U.S. intervention in Libya in 2011, which Paul called "Hillary's war" because of her role in shaping the American response.

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Rand Paul: Romney couldn't attract enough people

Published January 14, 2015

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has hired a campaign manager in preparation for a possible White House bid in 2016, according to a published report.

The Washington Post reported late Tuesday that Paul had announced the hiring of Chip Englander, who most recently oversaw Bruce Rauner's successful campaign for Illinois governor. Citing people familiar with the hire, the paper reported that Englander would officially hold the title of senior adviser at Paul's political action committee. However, those people also said that the 33-year-old Englander had been assured that he will take over operation of the campaign once Paul talks the matter out with his family.

"America has intractable problems and its going to take a transformational leader to fix them," Englander told the Post. "Senator Paul is going to be the bold, transformational figure in this race.

The reported hire comes as Paul's potential rivals for the Republican nomination begin jostling for position. The Post reported Monday that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP's nominee in 2012, had begun reaching out to former advisers, donors, and allies about the possibility of a third presidential bid. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who filed paperwork to form a political action committee last week, will travel to California later this week for fundraising events.

A memo sent to Paul donors and allies touted Englander as a man who had helped elect a Republican governor in President Barack Obama's home state, which the president "won by 25 [percentage points in the 2008 election]". The memo also said Englander "drew in new types of voters to win the state, including winning a majority of moderates, unprecedented for a Republican." Rauner defeated incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn, who was running for a second term.

Paul is scheduled to visit two states with early primary contests later this week. On Wednesday, he will travel to New Hampshire, with a stay in Nevada planned for Friday and Saturday.

Click for more from The Washington Post.

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Rand Paul reportedly hires campaign manager for possible 2016 White House run

TIME Politics 2016 Election Sen. Rand Paul speaks with the news media after delivering a speech at the Detroit Economic Club on Dec. 6, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. Bill PuglianoGetty Images

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is not pulling his punches over former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who has indicated to donors and allies he is considering another bid for the White House in 2016.

In an interview with radio host John Gibson on Fox News Radio, the libertarian lawmaker called the former Massachusetts governor yesterdays news, adding he doesnt believe theres room for a third act in politics.

Well if he runs to the right of Jeb Bush he will still be to the left of the rest of the party, so it may be a difficult spot to occupy, Paul told Gibson Tuesday, in a one-two punch in reference to reports Romney would seek to cast himself as the conservative alternative to the former Florida governor. Look I like Gov. Romney. I like him personally, I think hes a good person, I think hes a great businessman. But, you know, thats yesterdays news. Hes tried twice. I dont really think that there is a third time out there.

Paul, who has all-but-officially declared a presidential campaign, said the Republican Party needs to focus on growing its base of supporters, an area where Romney did not excel in 2012.

I think he did a lot of right, Paul continued. But in the end youve got to have a bigger constituency, youve got to get new people, youve got to get new people to win. And I think its just time that probably the party is going to be looking for someone fresh and new.

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Rand: Romney Is Yesterdays News

It's a wonky issue but one close to many conservatives' hearts: judicial activism.

Sen. Rand Paul, R- Kentucky, is breaking with many in his party by challenging conservatives who call judicial restraint a sacrosanct conservative mantra. At a conservative conference on Tuesday, the potential GOP presidential candidate said that activism - sometimes - isn't a dirty word.

"It's is not as simple as we make it sound," Paul said of the issue at a conservative conference hosted by Heritage Action Tuesday.

Paul -- who has also made a point of prodding traditional GOP maxims about criminal justice and foreign policy - pointed to the Supreme Court's recent decision on the Affordable Care Act as an instance of restraint gone wrong.

"My point is not to convert you from judicial restraint to judicial activism but to think about it" the potential 2016 presidential candidate added. "I don't want judges writing laws either, but do I want judges to protect my freedom? Do I want judges to take an activist role to preserve liberty?"

At the same conference one day earlier, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Paul's Senate colleague and potential 2016 challenger, insisted that Republicans must insist on restrained judges.

"I'm looking forward to seeing finally some real scrutiny to prevent judicial activists from being put on the bench who will impose their own radical agenda, including sadly the judicial activism we have seen in recent months with courts effectively striking down the marriage laws in 36 states," Cruz told the small auditorium of conservative activists.

While the issue seems mundane and boring, it could come to a head during the next president's term - if not in the next two years - as the Supreme Court is likely to have an opening.

While judicial restraint is a philosophy first adopted by liberals in the early 1900s, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have used the term to their advantage.

In recent years, conservatives have been more aggressive on pushing judges who follow a strict and literal interpretation of the Constitution as opposed to "activist" judges who they say favor personal beliefs over the law. The idea was championed by the late Robert Bork, a conservative judge who failed to be confirmed by the Senate for the Supreme Court in the 1980s.

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Rand Paul Challenges Conservatives, Cruz

TIME Politics 2016 Election Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks to an audience of supporters of Georgia Senate candidate David Perdue during a campaign stop in McDonough, Ga. on Oct. 24, 2014. Jessica McGowanGetty Images

Hes not officially running for president yet, but thats not stopping Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul from taking a few shots at his presumptive competition in the Republican primary.

The latest target: former presidential nominee Mitt Romney. And as hes done with other potential rivals, Paul argued that Romney simply cant win.

In an interview with Fox News Radio Monday, Paul said that Romney was a good person and a great businessman, but politically speaking he argued hes yesterdays news.

Hes tried twice I dont really think that there is a third time out there, he said. I think he did a lot of things right, but in the end you got to have a bigger constituency, you got to get new people, you got to attract new people to win and I think its time that probably the party is going to be looking for something fresh and new.

Paul has also taken aim at other potential presidential candidates, using similarly pragmatic language.

In December, he argued on Fox News that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was out of practice. Hes been out of this for a while, he said. So maybe he needs to get back in and practice up a bit.

In November, he argued on CBS Face the Nation that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had the wrong attitude. I think this sort of bully demeanor may go over well in certain places, he said, adding that he learned to be more polite growing up in the South.

In a more indirect way, Paul has also criticized his opponents by arguing that they are out of step with public opinion polls.

When criticizing Sen. Marco Rubios support for continuing the Cuban embargo, Paul cited an NPR poll that showed the majority of Cuban Americans back normalizing relations with the country. And in a midsummer back-and-forth with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, he noted that polls showed that most Americans are opposed to sending troops back to Iraqa position Perry has supported.

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Rand Paul Makes a Pragmatic Case Against Rivals