There is reportedly better than a 50-50 chance that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will run for president.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Bush’s inner circle of “advisers have been quietly spreading the word that they should avoid committing to other possible presidential candidates until he decides on his own course after the November election” and have been actively dismissing “speculation that the former Florida governor has ruled out a 2016 run.”
Jim Nicholson, “a Bush supporter who served in President George W. Bush’s cabinet,” told the outlet: “I think the chances are better than 50-50 that he runs, and that is based on some conversations I’ve had with members of the Bush family.”
Even though Bush confidante Sally Bradshaw said that “there is no organized effort to actively recruit support for a presidential campaign” and “he is seriously considering the race and will make a decision sometime after November,” Bush’s son, Jeb Bush Jr., told the Journal that, “there’s a lot of pressure to run.”
As the Journal notes, “Bush is a top choice of the establishment wing of the Republican Party,” but his support for amnesty and Common Core have “drawn strong opposition from many conservatives.”
“Bush’s strength as a presidential candidate looks much more dubious today than a few months ago, amid widespread backlash against education accountability policies closely associated with him,” Tampa Bay Times political editor Adam Smith wrote last week, declaring Bush the “loser of the week” in Florida politics.
Bush, who declared that illegal immigration is an “act of love,” will also face pushback for his enthusiastic support of amnesty legislation if he decides to run for president.
“Before you do anything, let us know.”