DENVER (AP) — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hasn’t said whether he’s going to run for president in 2016, but he’s going on the air in three races this year — in Spanish.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday released Spanish-language ads Bush filmed for three Republican candidates: Rep. Cory Gardner in Colorado, who is running for U.S. Senate; embattled Rep. David Valadao in California; and Martha McSally, who is trying to oust Democratic Rep. Ron Barber in Arizona.
Bush is President George W. Bush’s older brother and many Republican power brokers’ favored 2016 candidate. He is bilingual and supports immigration reform. But that position could make it challenging for him to win a Republican primary if he runs.
Jeb Bush’s intercession comes in three of the few races where Republicans need Hispanic voters this cycle. In Colorado, where 14 percent of voters are Hispanic, Gardner has become more in favor of an immigration overhaul. Valadao is one of two Republicans who signed a petition to force a vote on a Senate immigration bill that died in the House. McSally is running in a district with a sizeable Hispanic population.
Bush is the second Florida Republican and possible 2016 GOP presidential candidate who has starred in the Chamber’s Spanish-language ad campaign. Sen. Marco Rubio cut an ad for Gardner this spring.