In New Hampshire, Libertarian-Minded See a Standard-Bearer in Rand Paul

A good sign for the Kentucky senator's prospects

They turned out in force to back his father in 2012.

Now, as they look ahead to the 2016 presidential election, Granite State liberty groups, Tea Partiers, small business leaders and several prominent Libertarian and Republican politicians are eyeing Rand Paul to fill the void likely to be left by his father, Ron Paul, who finished a strong second behind Mitt Romney in New Hampshire's First-in-the-Nation primary vote in 2012.

Though he received his share of criticism from fellow Republicans, Randal Howard Paul, better known as "Rand," made headlines in recent weeks by taking a stand against potential domestic drone strikes with a roughly 13-hour filibuster on the U.S. Senate floor during the nomination of John Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.