Oddly enough, money alone can’t make Jeb Bush president of the United States.
Jeb Bush is sinking in the polls. Once considered the logical choice for the Republican party, he has had to deal with the surprising realization many Republicans no longer respect the status quo. His poll numbers have plunged into the single digits in a national survey this week. Ugly comments about Mexican and Asian immigrants have helped to fuel the downward spiral. At the same time, Donald Trump and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson have risen in the polls.
In an effort to manipulate the primaries, Jeb Bush has shifted tactics. Unable to gain support from the Republican voters, he is now seeking establishment support. He is after all, the establishment candidate for the GOP.
Jeb Bush has accumulated pledges from a steady trickle of mayors, state legislators, former governors and about two dozen members of Congress in recent weeks, including former House majority leader Eric Cantor on Thursday. The count puts Bush ahead of other 2016 contenders in gaining endorsements, but far behind in comparison to previous GOP candidates at this point in a presidential campaign cycle. The sustained success of businessman Donald Trump is causing many Republicans to hold off on picking sides.
Eric Cantor had this to say about his boss, Jeb Bush,
“We’re at a turning point as a country; we’re at a turning point for our party. It is time for the Republican Party to unite around strong conservative principles that Jeb Bush has stood for in Florida.”
Cantor did not elaborate on the alternative of a Donald Trump leaning Republican Party.
Many Republicans, including Donald Trump, think Cantor’s endorsement of Jeb Bush is an odd choice. Eric Cantor lost his congressional election to an upstart tea party challenger last year, throwing House Republicans into chaos as they lost their House Majority Leader.
Donald Trump asked,
“Who wants the endorsement of a guy [Eric Cantor] who lost in perhaps the greatest upset in the history of Congress?”
Over the last several weeks, Jeb Bush has assembled state leadership teams. Many of these teams are led by prominent politicians and filled out with lower tier politicians. In Virginia, Eric Cantor is co-chairing the Bush campaign along with Kay Coles James, a former state health secretary, and John Hager, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. In the states holding the earliest contests, Jeb Bush is recruiting longtime supporters of his father or brother.
However, many establishment Republicans are resisting the tactic. Rep. Peter T. King (NY), the kind of conservative Jeb Bush should have support from, said he is likely to support Bush, but not yet.
“All things being equal, I will endorse Jeb Bush, the way it looks now. But I have to see if he can sustain a campaign. He has the financial resources and the organization in place, but it’s a long way from now to January.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois, among the first Republicans to endorse Jeb Bush, said he knows of several colleagues who are withholding support for Bush, given the fluidity of the race.
The Republican Party Convention gives Republican members of the House and Senate, or sitting governors, delegate status. Getting endorsements from the party leaders shows his establishment strength, while not having the support of the party’s primary voters. In spite of manipulating/accumulating millions of dollars in advance of his running, and his efforts to manipulate party support, George Bush continues to spiral downward with Republican voters.
