Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is considering an April 7 launch date for his presidential run, an aide confirms to NBC News.
The plan under consideration would include “a swing through early states” immediately following the announcement, the person added.
The date was first reported by the New York Times.
An early April announcement would allow Paul to be officially in the presidential race for nearly the entirety of a Federal Election Commission fundraising quarter, thus maximizing his cash haul’s total in the much-watched quarterly reports due at the end of June.
Paul hopes to broaden the libertarian base championed by his father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, to include more Republicans who espouse mainstream conservative ideals on domestic policy but are weary of the party’s traditionally hawkish foreign policy stances.
In a recent set of NBC News/Marist polls, Paul captured seven percent of the potential GOP electorate in the key nominating states of Iowa and South Carolina. And he garnered 14 percent support in New Hampshire.