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OK, sure, theres little doubt that Rand Paul is going to win the next presidential election by a 538-0 electoral vote margin. But theres maybe .000001 percent possibility he wont that we cant fully rule out. He could lose the general election, for example, if the Democrat Party Voter Fraud Machine tries to steal it. He could also lose to one of the other ~35 Republican presidential candidates in the primary. And then what does he do? Go home to Kentucky and be a boring old eye doctor for the rest of his life? Hed probably like to return to the Senate, where hes up for reelection in 2016.

This is the problem. Kentucky law states that no candidates name shall appear on any voting machine or absentee ballot more than once. That means that on May 17, 2016, the day of the Kentucky primary, Rand Paul cannot be a candidate in both the presidential primary and Senate primary.

Kentucky Republicans had hoped to change this law. The Republican-controlled state Senate has already passed a bill to allow Paul to run for both. But Republicans failed to win control of the state House on election night, and the Democratic House speaker, Greg Stumbo, has blocked the bill. He claims the state constitution bars lawmakers from passing special legislation that would benefit only one person. He added, a bit more to the point: Im not a fan of Sen. Paul, and Im not eager to see my country turned over to him.

Ever since the results of the election, when Republicans werent able to take the Kentucky House, the CV has been that Paul will have to make a decision: run for president or run for Senate reelection. And what a decision that would be! ESPN could film an hour-long special on the whole thing, live from a Boys and Girls Club in Connecticut. After 59 minutes of time killing, Paul could say something like, Im taking my talents to the Iowa caucuses and then dunk on Jeb Bushs head.

But dont expect anything so stark as a decision. There are several workarounds available to Paul. None of them are perfect, and some are more fun than others.

The simplest solution, as both the Wall Street Journal and TPM report,would be for Paul not to run in the Kentucky presidential primary. That means ceding some delegates, but hed still have 49 other states in which to pick them up. It would be hilarious if he lost the nomination by a narrow margin that he couldve made up in Kentucky, but thats a slim possibility.

He could also get Kentucky Republicans to move some dates around the Kentucky presidential primary would instead be a caucus held earlier in the calendar, while his Kentucky Senate primary would still be in May. NPR explains:

Paul and his supporters, though, have already thought of a partial workaround: Change Kentuckys Republican presidential nominating contest from the May 17 primary to a caucus in mid- to late March. That way, Paul could still file for the Kentucky primary ballot in January, appear on (and presumably win) the Senate primary in May all the while pursuing the presidential nomination.

This wouldnt require a change from the Kentucky legislature, only approval from state and local Republican Party officials.

The downside to either of these two options or something similarly creative, though, is that they wouldnt solve his general election ballot problems. If he won the presidential nomination, he would have to drop out of the Senate race. This is bad for both Paul and the Republican Party. Paul could lose the presidential election and find himself out of work. And Republicans according to Stumbo, at least would not be able to replace Paul on the Senate ballot that late in the race: The Democratic candidate would win the seat. This is your moment, Ashley Judd.

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Rand Pauls ballot time-bomb: Why he may have to sue to run for president

FILE - In this June 20, 2014 file photo Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. speaks in Washington. Their party has seized the Senate majority. Now, an ambitious class of Republican senators faces unique challenges, and opportunities, in a GOP-led Senate under ... more >

Sen. Rand Pauls political operation is bringing on the digital strategist who helped propel Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to a surprise win in a 2012 Republican primary in Texas en route to the U.S. Senate.

Vincent Harris, who runs the Austin-based Harris Media, has been hired as the chief digital strategist for Mr. Pauls political action committee, RANDPAC.

Vince will bring a new level to ingenuity and creativity to our online efforts moving forward, the Kentucky Republican said in a statement. His past work demonstrates his tremendous ability to engage people online, and he will complement our aggressive online strategy.

Though no candidates have officially announced a 2016 presidential run yet, the move could portend other early jockeying among possible contenders for campaign staff, particularly staff with online and digital backgrounds.

Mr. Harris has worked for a long list of clients across the country. In addition to working for Mr. Cruz, he played a significant role in the digital strategy for incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Mr. McConnells re-election campaign this year and he worked for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabees campaign team during the 2008 GOP presidential nomination contest.

In a statement, Mr. Harris said he is thrilled and honored to be working for a man with deep conviction and faith.

Doug Stafford, executive director of RANDPAC, said Mr. Harris is truly an innovator who has led the charge to bring the GOP into the digital age.

His candor and honesty have enabled candidates across the nation to develop successful strategies that have been unrivaled in past campaigns, Mr. Stafford said.

According to the PAC, Mr. Harris will complement the current digital team of Saber Communications and CanDo Politics.

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Rand Paul's political team hires Ted Cruz's digital strategist

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has snatched one of the GOPs young digital stars from likely primary opponent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Vincent Harris and his Austin-based firm Harris Media late Monday joined up with RANDPAC, with Harris officially taking the job of chief digital strategist for the Kentucky Republicans political operation.

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Cruz also is shedding other staff. On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General-elect Ken Paxton tapped as his top assistant Chip Roy, the senators top Cruz political strategist and former chief of staff.

Harris, who led the 2014 digital campaign for Sen. Mitch McConnell, has ties to several potential Republican presidential candidates. He led Mike Huckabees digital efforts in the 2008 GOP presidential primaries. In 2012, he handled Cruzs Senate campaign and also directed online strategy for Texas Gov. Rick Perrys presidential bid.

In an interview Tuesday, Harris said he picked Paul because of the Kentucky Republicans commitment to a strong 2016 digital campaign and because they both are alumni of Baylor University.

Rand Paul is a forward looking thought leader who is going to put a large emphasis on technology, probably a larger emphasis than any other candidate considering who he is, who his supporters are and his issue stands, Harris said.

Pauls digital team already includes Fredericksburg, Va.-based Saber Communications and CanDo Politics, which helped raise $35 million in small-dollar donations for Rep. Ron Pauls presidential campaign.

Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said the staff shakeups are part of the normal ebb and flow of politics, adding that Josh Perry has been the senators official digital director since 2012 as well as with his campaign in 2011 and is still dishing out Ted Cruz awesomeness on the internets every day.

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Paul hires digital guru away from Cruz

FILE - In this June 20, 2014 file photo Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. speaks in Washington. Their party has seized the Senate majority. Now, an ambitious class of Republican senators faces unique challenges, and opportunities, in a GOP-led Senate under ... more >

Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, says if President Obama moves unilaterally to grant legal status to potentially millions of illegal immigrants, the matter could ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Paul said Monday evening on Fox News Hannity program that a new Republican-controlled Congress could rein in potential executive orders through the appropriations process, as some in the GOP are calling for.

We can pass legislation, but legislation would have to be signed by him, he said.

But Mr. Paul hinted at another possible avenue, citing a case during the Truman administration where the Supreme Court overturned an executive order directing the government to run many of the steel mills in the country amid heightened demand from the Korean War.

I think with regard to immigration reform, hes doing something that Congress has not instructed him to do and in fact has instructed him otherwise, so I think the Supreme Court would strike it down - that takes a while, but that may be the only recourse short of a new president, said Mr. Paul, who is a contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

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Supreme Court eyed to halt Obama's immigration executive orders

A wall of Republican opposition brought down a controversial National Security Agency reform bill Tuesday night, leaving the future of the package in doubt ahead of a Republican takeover next year.

Sen. Patrick Leahys legislation that would end the NSAs bulk data collection narrowly fell short of the Senates 60-vote threshold, 58-42, a major defeat for privacy advocates, civil libertarians and a White House that supports the bill. The filibuster of the proposal prevents it from even coming to the floor for debate.

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Opposition was led by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and colleague Sen. Rand Paul, who both voted down the legislation, though for different reasons. McConnell, like many Republicans, voted it down because he believed the reforms went too far, while Paul voted against the bill because it did not go far enough.

Paul said immediately after the vote that he felt bad about his vote against the motion.

They probably needed my vote, he said, opposing Leahys bill because it would extend the sunset provisions for the laws authorizing surveillance. Its hard for me to vote for something I object to so much.

Other heavy hitters joined the view that NSA proposal would make it difficult to combat terrorism, a crowd that included Marco Rubio of Florida, another potential White House aspirant.

They cannot cite a single example of this program being abused, Rubio said of the bills supporters. Not one. We are dealing with a theoretical threat.

Advocates of the bill made impassioned pleas to advance it past a filibuster, the rare proposal that drew the support of both GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Democratic Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein of California.

It would help address the problem of the American government spying on its citizens without cause, said Lee, a co-sponsor of the bill, on the Senate floor before the vote. What opponents of this bill fail to appreciate is that most Americans are deeply, deeply, concerned about the collection of their personal information.

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McConnell to stand with Rand on NSA bill