Could Massie run for president? As soon as he conceded his loss to President Donald Trump’s favored candidate, Ed Gallrein, it was clear that his more zealous supporters in the election-night crowd wanted him to do exactly that.The Iran war has potentially reopened the Ron Paul lane in the 2028 Republican primaries. The 12-term former Texas congressman had some strong showings in the early states in 2008 and 2012, with top-three finishes in both Iowa and New Hampshire during his second GOP bid, even if he fizzled down the stretch. Paul drew big, young crowds on the campaign trail, considerable media coverage, and respectable raw national vote totals.
That lane was expected to be filled in 2028, if at all, by Paul’s son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). The younger Paul has been testing the waters for a second presidential campaign. He supported Massie, his fellow Kentuckian, in the May 19 primary and has been a Tea Party success story.
But when the senator first ran for president in 2016, he was unable to recapture the enthusiasm that surrounded his father’s Republican candidacies. The “libertarian moment” that gave the younger Paul reason to hope he could actually win the GOP nomination (his father was the 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nominee) peaked around 2014. Trump absorbed a lot of the populist energy, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) captured many small-government Tea Party conservatives. The end result was disappointing for Paul, who dropped out after Iowa.
