Paul: Jesse Benton will ‘help us’ in 2016

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that he’ll welcome back a former staffer who ran his father’s presidential campaign while it was accused of trading money for an endorsement.  

“I think Jesse [Benton] is honest, he’s good at politics and I don’t think he’s done anything wrong,” Paul told Kentucky ABC affiliate WHAS 11. 

{mosads}Benton resigned from future Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) reelection campaign in August after accusations that an Iowa politician had been paid by the presidential campaign of Paul’s father, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), for an endorsement. The politician later pled guilty.  

While Benton was never implicated, he resigned from McConnell’s campaign so as not to become a “distraction.”

“Jesse is married to my niece and was a big help in the Kentucky election here in 2010 and a big help for Sen. McConnell,” Paul said. “He’ll help us.”

Paul didn’t say what role Benton would play in the future. The first-term senator is running for reelection in 2016 but is also toying with running for president. A Kentucky law prohibits a politician from simultaneously running for two offices, but Paul is expected to push for a change if he decides to run. 

“That decision isn’t made yet,” Paul told the station about his run for president, “but we are doing things to be prepared if it were to happen.”

“There’s still uncertainty and time to sort of make final decisions over the next few months.”