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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky built a national reputation on his willingness to challenge Republican orthodoxies. As he launches a 2016 presidential bid, he is reaching out to more traditional voters as well.

Paul announced his candidacy on Tuesday in a post on his website, a few hours before what his political action committee described as "a very special rally" scheduled for 11:30 a.m. (1530 GMT) at a hotel in Louisville, Kentucky's largest city.

"I am running for president to return our country to the principles of liberty and limited government," he said in the post.

But the anti-war agitator who mounted a 13-hour filibuster to call attention to the United States' use of drones recently proposed a boost to military spending. The firebrand who wants to scale back the authority of the Federal Reserve has been quietly courting Wall Street donors.

And the 52-year-old former eye surgeon who harnessed the anti-establishment energy of the Tea Party movement has been raising money for fellow Republicans, at times upsetting the grassroots activists who have made him a national figure.

Tuesday's announcement makes Paul the second major Republican figure to announce presidential ambitions for 2016, after Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. A crowded field is expected, and candidates will be competing hard for constituencies ranging from the Christian right to traditional Wall Street Republicans.

Yuri Gripas/Reuters Senator Rand Paul in Washington, December 3, 2014. On many issues, Paul does not differ from mainstream Republicans. He opposes Obamacare and abortion, and favors cutting taxes and spending. But his criticism of the Federal Reserve has spooked many in the party's business-friendly wing, and his proposal to balance the federal budget within five years is dramatic even by the standards of his anti-spending party.

Still, he has surprised many party insiders as he has laid the groundwork for the campaign.

"The people that I know of that talked to Rand Paul walk away pretty impressed," said Ron Kaufman, a former Mitt Romney adviser who now backs former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

But Paul is being watched closely by the libertarian activists who were galvanized by the 2008 and 2012 White House bids of his father, former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.

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Republican Rand Paul announces 2016 presidential run on website