I like Rand Paul. I think of those I know, I’d take DeSantis and Paul as my desires for president.
Rand Paul has been growing on me. Trump is still my top choice with DeSantis second. I like Mike Pompeo, too but selfishly, I want him to come back to Kansas and run for governor in 2026. I don't see him winning the general election if he were to somehow get the presidential nomination which is a long shot.
Paul is like Pat Buchanan. In that he is probably the most true conservative on the field with an absolute dedication to the cause.
Yet when he runs in the primaries he will get probably get 4% or something of the vote, like Buchanan. Go back and read Buchanan’s Death of the West. He is nearly a prophet in that work, he called for the coming immigration crisis, demographic change, drift to extremism, moral decay etc. Deep state doesn’t really want a true conservative, neocons are allowed which is why they turned on Trump with such hatred. They thought he was going to be a neo-con but he turned out to be a populist.
I would vote for Paul in a second.