Jeb Bush may be a decent man, but when it comes to fundraising, conservative donors are putting their eggs in another candidate’s basket.
Matea Gold and Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post:
With some donors doubting Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio seizes an openingMarco Rubio is benefiting from pockets of discontent in Jeb Bush’s sprawling money network, winning over donors who believe the 44-year-old freshman senator from Florida offers a more compelling persona and sharper generational contrast against Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.Rubio is working to seize the moment by making an all-out push to lock down financial backers in the coming month, hopscotching the country in a nonstop series of fundraisers that are limiting his presence on the campaign trail.While he faces stiff competition in the money race from Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, in particular, Rubio’s in-person courting sessions are starting to pay off. Longtime Bush loyalists and other big-money players on the right have emerged from the meetings raving about his abilities, according to people familiar with private gatherings he has had across the country.“After meeting Marco and listening to him — he is almost astounding, he is so articulate and he has got such great vision,” said Anthony Gioia, a top GOP fundraiser in Buffalo. Gioia raised more than $500,000 for George W. Bush and then served as his ambassador to Malta, but he is supporting Rubio this time. “I hate to overuse the word ‘transformational,’ but I really feel he is,” Gioia said.
The only people who are excited about the 2016 candidacy of Jeb Bush are (mostly liberal) talking heads on cable news. Let’s hope their enthusiasm continues:
As Kurt Schlichter noted in a column for Townhall back in December:
Who on earth who isn’t a Bush wants Jeb to run for president, much less actually be president?
On a final note, can you guess who’s leading the Republican field against Hillary Clinton?
Jennifer Agiesta of CNN:
Poll: New speed bumps for ClintonMore people have an unfavorable view of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton now than at any time since 2001, according to a new CNN/ORC poll on the 2016 race.While Clinton remains strikingly dominant in the Democratic field, the poll shows that her numbers have dropped significantly across several key indicators since she launched her campaign in April…In head-to-head match-ups against top Republicans, her margin is tighter than it has been at any point in CNN/ORC’s polling on the contest.On the Republican side, though, no candidate has successfully broken out of the pack.The group of seven that have come to dominate most polling on the race hold the top of the charts in this poll, Sen. Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush leading the pack with Mike Huckabee, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and Sen. Rand Paul all in the hunt.
Is everyone looking forward to the GOP primary debates as much as I am?
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