Tea party favorite U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was elected to the Senate in November and said he is open to running for the Republican presidential nomination. The Charleston Post and Courier is reporting that Paul spoke in South Carolina, the first Southern state to hold a primary, and expressed interest in running, provided his father, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is not in the race. The elder Paul pulled 3.6 percent in South Carolina when he ran for the GOP nod back in 2008.

A bill that would reduce premiums for insurance policyholders, proponents say,narrowly passed through the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday, but not before an amendmentoffered by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey,was tacked on, which stripped the billof one of its main provisions.

Former House Majority Leader Adam Hasner continues to raise his profile as it appears very likely that he will enter what could be a potentially crowded Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012. Hasner was the focus of a friendly piece over at National Review, the iconic conservative magazine, earlier in the month. On Monday, he appeared on the Mark Levin radio show -- and certainly sounded like a candidate.