Rumor Check: Rand Paul Has Not Filed Papers to Run for President

Despite a flurry of stories saying Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has filed papers to run for the White house in 2016, Paul has not filed anything yet.

The Washington Examiner and others reported that Paul was officially running for president. But that report was based on a misreading of a page on the Federal Election Commission's website.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is not running for president, at least not yet. Image: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

According to the FEC, a political action committee called the Human Action SuperPAC told the FEC in 2013 that it had spent some money in anticipation of supporting Paul's 2016 run. That report triggered the FEC to create a slot for Paul, in order to match up with Human Action's spending.

An FEC spokesman told TheBlaze that this slot has been in existence since 2013, but was only just reported on Thursday as a sign that Paul will run.

The spokesman said they have so far received nothing from Paul. The slot itself shows Paul's name, but doesn't have any link to his filing documents, because Paul has not sent anything to the agency.

The FEC does keep a current list of 2016 presidential candidates who have filed appropriate paperwork with the agency. That list can be seen here — it currently lists almost 200 candidates from around the country.