Jeb Bush
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has revealed he’s going to “actively explore” a run for the job his father and his brother have both held. Bush posted a holiday message on his Facebook page, saying he had talked with his family over the Thanksgiving holiday about seeking the presidency. Governor Terry Branstad said this morning that he’s surprised Bush is making his intentions this clear this early.
“We’ve been hearing rumors for some time that he was seriously thinking about it and it sounds like he’s made some progress with his mother, at least from what I heard on the news this morning,” Branstad said, adding with a laugh: “I had that issue with my wife, so I know how those things go.”
Former First Lady Barbara Bush said in 2013 that while her son, Jeb, was the “most qualified” to be the next president, the country had “had enough Bushes” in the White House. Bush, who is 64 years old, said on his Facebook post that he hoped to travel the country in 2015 and “have a conservation about restoring the promise of America.” Bush held a fundraiser for Branstad in Florida this fall, but Branstad said they did not discuss the 2016 presidential campaign.
“I have a lot of respect for him and the job that he did as governor, but, you know, I also have a lot of respect for Governor Christie and Governor Jindal and former Governor Huckabee and the governor of Texas, Governor Perry,” Branstad told reporters today.
Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana, is due in Iowa this evening as the keynote speaker at the Polk County GOP’s holiday get-together. As of Monday, about 150 tickets were sold for the event and organizers expect about 200 to be there tonight.
Jeb Bush served two terms as Florida’s governor and revealed recently that he will release two-hundred-thousands emails from that period for public scrutiny. In addition, Bush is writing a soon-to-be-released E-book” about his time as governor, so he’ll join the long list of presidential candidates who release a book before launching a bid for the White House.