Updated: 11:02 p.m.| Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said this afternoon that he is “honored” to be endorsed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), had run for the Republican presidential nomination against Romney in 2008 and this election cycle, but he essentially conceded the race in an email to supporters today.

“When it is all said and done, we will likely have as many as 500 supporters as delegates on the convention floor,” he wrote, according to the Houston Chronicle. “That is just over 20 percent! And while this total is not enough to win the nomination, it puts us in a tremendous position to grow our movement and shape the future of the GOP!”

In response to Sen. Paul’s endorsement, Romney praised his record.

“Sen. Paul has been a leading voice in the effort to scale back the size and reach of government and promote liberty,” he said, adding that he looks forward to “working with him to get America back on the right track.”

Sen. Paul, himself, is widely thought to harbor ambitions for higher office. “The assumption throughout the political community in Kentucky is that he’s a one-term Senator who is running for president in 2016,” said a Republican consultant deeply familiar with Kentucky.