Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said his win at this weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll was "invigorating" and "exciting," stoking speculation that he's moving toward a presidential run in 2016.
“I can tell it you it was invigorating and it was exciting," Paul said on Fox News. "There were probably 2,000 young kids in the audience standing and chanting. If you want to find some energy for the conservative movement, you see it it there at CPAC. It’s one of the biggest convocations of young people you’ll see all year long."
A quarter of attendees at the conference selected Paul as their top choice for president in 2016, edging Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who garnered 23 percent.
Fox host Sean Hannity joked that the Kentucky lawmaker should promised to announce a 2016 bid on his program.
“Oh yeah, absolutely," Paul said. "We didn’t already announce it did we? Oh that’s right, no, we didn’t saying anything.”
Speculation over Paul's presidential ambitions will only intensify with his speech, to be delivered Tuesday morning to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, in which he embraces a pathway to citizenship for the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants.
"If you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you," Paul will say, according to an early excerpt obtained by the Associated Press.
