Rand Paul will be allowed to run for president and Senate in Ky.

by Megan R. Wilson - 08/22/15 4:45 PM ET

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) can run for both the White House and to keep his Senate seat in 2016, the Republican Party in Kentucky decided Saturday.

State law does not allow a candidate’s name to appear twice in one ballot during the same election. But Kentucky GOP leaders have approved the use of a presidential caucus that would allow voters to cast a vote for Paul for president before the overall Republican primary election.

{mosads}A GOP presidential caucus will be held March 5 next year, and a separate primary election for other offices, including Paul’s Senate seat, will take place May 17.

While Paul has been pushing for the maneuver, Republicans on the state party’s executive committee said it had larger benefits for voters as a whole.

“This is not about Sen. Paul in my mind. This is about making Kentucky relevant,” committee member Troy Sheldon said, according to The Associated Press. “I think it’s the best thing for voters.”

The caucus allows for candidates with at least 5 percent of the vote to qualify for delegates. Those delegates would also be split proportionally, as opposed to a “winner takes all” approach.

State GOP officials hope this system will convince as many of the 17 declared GOP presidential candidates as possible to campaign in Kentucky.

The 5 percent threshold is much lower than in other primary states.

The earlier voting also comes with a $500,000 price-tag, which could be an issue for Kentucky Republicans, who claim to have less than $170,000 in cash on hand, the AP reported. Paul reportedly suggested collecting donations from voters at polling locations to fund the caucus.

Some are upset at Paul for not transferring $250,000 to the state party, even though he said in a letter that he had done so, according to the AP.

Now the caucus will depend on whether the senator ponies up the cash.

In the decision to create the presidential caucus, there is an amendment that requires Paul to transfer the $250,000 by Sept. 18. If it is not transferred by that date, the caucus will be canceled.

Tags Rand Paul