Rand Paul Tries to Persuade Wife on 2016 Run

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who’s made no secret of his interest in a possible GOP presidential run in 2016, said Thursday he has to first persuade his apprehensive wife before tossing his hat in the ring.

But he told the Detroit Economic Club Thursday he’ll try to do just that next year, The Hill reported.

"Where is my cellphone? Can I call my wife?" Paul responded when asked about his intentions.

"I tell people that there are two votes in my family and my wife has both of them, and both of them are 'no' votes right now," he said. "So if I am a very able politician, I will tell you in a year whether I’m able to persuade my wife. Right now I don’t know yet, but I thank you for your interest."

Paul’s wife, Kelly, has said she’s worried about the relentless scrutiny a Rand Paul presidential campaign would bring on their family.

"When I think of the tens of millions of dollars in opposition research that they’d be aiming right at us and our family — that’s what it’s about," she said in an interview in a September issue of Vogue magazine, while in the same interview, Rand’s mother Carol told the magazine the prospect of a presidential campaign "feels real."

Paul, who has previously urged the Republican Party to be more diverse, said the GOP has to "evolve" or "die" if it is to ever have a chance to recapture the White House, The Hill reported.

"The Democrat Party is more diverse than we are, and that is why they are winning more elections," he said. "Some of the diversity though is we need to appeal to people in cities and some of that is somewhat ethnically related."