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By STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Rand Paul may only yet be a candidate for re-election to the Senate in 2016, but the first-term Kentucky Republican already is sprinting toward the race for president.

The libertarian-minded lawmaker is set to visit several Western states this month before reintroducing himself to voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and his team is working to strengthen his political network in nearly every state.

At the same time, he is readying for a leading role in the GOP's new Senate majority while pushing to improve a Republican brand he says is "tattered."

Aides insist that Paul has not finalized his decision about the White House, but his aggressive steps leave little doubt about his ambitions.

"Everything's being prepared as if it's happening, with the knowledge that the final trigger hasn't been pulled yet," said Paul senior aide Doug Stafford.

Some see the son of former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a two-time presidential candidate, as a transformational figure capable of expanding the GOP's appeal beyond its traditional base of older, white men.

While calling for a dramatic reduction in the size and scope of the federal government, the 51-year-old Paul plays down social issues such as gay marriage, criticizes a criminal justice system that overwhelmingly incarcerates blacks, and favors a smaller U.S. footprint in the world.

Rand Paul should expect challenges every step of the way.

About his father's legacy. About contradictions between his past comments and today's words. About his willingness to take on the status quo. About a Kentucky law that says he cannot run for president and re-election to the Senate at the same time.

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Challenges loom for Paul as he speeds toward 2016 - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., performed well in The Federalist Today Presidential Straw Poll released this week on The Federalist website, but not as well as he has done in other straw polls.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, won the straw poll with 26 percent of the vote, followed by Paul with 22 percent and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with 16 percent, The Federalist said in a post.

But it is unclear if Pauls performance in this and other polls has any real significance when it comes to the real-life race for president, which he still has not yet officially entered.

Paul is no stranger to success in presidential straw polls. He won straw polls at theConservative Political Action Conference in 2013 and 2014, according to The Washington Post.

In the 2014 poll, the Bowling Green Republican bested his 2013 performance by winning 31 percent of the vote compared to 25 percent in 2013.In the 2014 CPAC poll, Cruz came in second place with 11 percent of the vote.

But the poll has not always been a great predictor of election success. GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney did win in 2012, but Pauls father and former Texas representative Ron Paul won in 2010 and 2011, according to The Washington Post.

The Federalist favors a conservative-libertarian candidate rising to the top in the coming Republican presidential nomination process but acknowledges challenges to that idea.

Any such insurgents campaign will be undone by a press that favors Democrats, a bare-knuckles Republican establishment that favors milque-toast candidates, and a bewildered flyover electorate conditioned to favor one flavor-of-the-month insurgent presidential candidate after another, to the detriment of any effective insurgent candidacy, the blog post said.

Some media outlets suggest that foreign relations may be a weak spot for Paul if he seeks his partys presidential nomination.

In its New Years resolutions and suggestions for potential Republican presidential candidates, The Hill suggests that Paul resolve to convince Republicans you can be trusted on foreign policy.

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Paul performs well in presidential poll

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Rand Paul Speaks at Foreign Relations Subcommittee in Defense of Christians Dec 9, 2014 SUBSCRIBE my channel for new videos about ECONOMIC COLLAPSE / COLLAPS...

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