Rand Paul, a son of Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul, is making official his 2010 campaign for a Senate seat in Kentucky.

Paul, an eye surgeon from Bowling Green, had referred to his Senate campaign as an “exploratory” effort. “Dr. Paul will now transition his exploratory committee to a full election committee,” his campaign said in a release Wednesday.

Paul initiated his campaign in mid-May, when Republican Sen. Jim Bunning was still saying he planned to seek re-election. Paul is declaring his candidacy for Bunning’s seat less than two weeks after Bunning said July 27 that he would not run.