Robert Paul Says Texas Senate Bid Unlikely

After flirting with the idea of campaigning to become a U.S. Senator from Texas, Robert Paul, son of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and brother of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has had a change of heart.

Robert Paul told a group of students at the University of North Texas he isn't ready to enter the race to replace retiring Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"I'm never going to say I won't ever run for office, but I think running for Senate probably is not going to happen this time," Paul told the group.

His dad Ron, a Republican Texas congressman and prolific fundraiser with libertarian views, has been a darling of young conservatives since his presidential run in 2008 and Robert, a Fort Worth doctor, is concerned that some voters expect him to be too much like his old man.

"I'm honored that people think I'm ready to run, but I think they want me to run because I'm related to Ron Paul," he said. "I think the biggest thing I have that's similar to my dad is that I'm honest."

Rand Paul, another of Ron Paul's sons has separated himself from his father's shadow as a Tea Party Republican senator from Kentucky. He is considering a presidential run in 2012, but says he'll only run if his father decides not to.

Robert, who describes himself as a fiscally conservative, anti-war Republican, didn't rule out running for office altogether, but he says the 2012 race for the Texas Senate seat isn't the place to start.

Tom Leppert, a former mayor of Dallas, Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, former Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, former Solicitor General Ted Cruz and former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams are all Republicans seeking the Senate seat.