http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/elections/kentucky/2016/05/17/rand-paul-wins/84326046/U.S. Sen. Rand Paul has won the Republican nomination for re-election to the U.S. Senate from Kentucky.
The Associated Press called the election for Paul shortly after the polls closed in the western half of the state.
Paul, who ran for president but dropped out after the Iowa caucus, faced nominal opposition from James R. Gould, a Navy veteran from Lexington, and Stephen Howard Slaughter, a chemical engineer from Louisville.
In a statement, Paul claimed victory and promised to push his conservative agenda for the state.
"It’s high time we consider what is best for Kentucky. It’s high time we put Kentucky first," he said. "Tonight I pledge to keep up the fight for balanced budgets, and American jobs, and an end to the War on Coal."
Paul, a Bowling Green ophthalmologist, will face Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, who easily outdistanced a seven-candidate field.
Gray has criticized Paul, saying that he has spent more time in New Hampshire coffee shops and Iowa corn fields while running for president than he has in Kentucky.
