Sen. Rand Paul Heading to Key Presidential Contest States

A father and son running for president at the same time? It seems highly unlikely, but Rep. Ron Paul says the odds are 50-50 that he will again seek the Republican presidential nomination, and his son, Sen. Rand Paul, has trips planned soon to South Carolina and Iowa -- two of the states where the 2012 race will begin.

Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is headed to Charleston, S.C., Monday for an off-the-record meeting of influential conservatives, CNN reported. He is slated for a return trip to the state to promote his new book, "The Tea Party Goes to Washington," and he has a speaking engagement at a GOP dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 2.

The first-term senator, who shares his dad's libertarian leanings, has made an impression with his uncompromising stands on spending issues. But he probably wouldn't even flirt with the notion of running nationally unless his dad decides to take a pass on 2012. Even so, when a senator starts spending time in states like Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire in the months preceding an election year, his travel schedule gets the attention of the political press.

Ron Paul (R-Texas) ran for president in 2008, winning 16 delegates and a strong following drawn to his fiscal conservatism and opposition to the war in Iraq. In 1988, he ran nationally as the candidate of the Libertarian Party, getting 430,000 votes nationwide.

Two father-and-son combos have served in the White House -- John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush -- but none competed against each other.