Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and the second son of former U.S. President George W.H. Bush announced his decision to “actively explore the possibility of running for the president” on 2016.
In a blog post on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Jeb Bush indicated that he made the decision after consulting with his family regarding the future of the United States during the Thanksgiving holiday.
“We also talked about the future of our nation. As a result of these conversations and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership I think America needs; I have decided to actively explore the possibility of running for president of the United States, wrote Jeb Bush.
Jeb Bush to establish leadership PAC on January
The former Florida governor said he plans to establish a leadership PAC on January to help him facilitate conversations with American citizens across the country.
Jeb Bush hopes to discuss the most critical challenges facing the United States with his fellow American citizens. “The PAC’s purpose will be to support leaders, ideas and policies that will expand opportunity and prosperity for all Americans,” said Jeb Bush.
Sending a message to other 2016 presidential contenders
A top Republican close to the Bush family commented that the timing of the announcement means that Jeb Bush is sending a message to other 2016 presidential contenders, GOP activists and donors that he is serious about running as president of the United Unites.
The announcement may be a bad news for Senator Marco Rubio, a potential contender for the 2016 presidential election.
In an interview with ABC News, Alex Conant, spokesperson for Sen. Rubio said, “Marco has a lot of respect for Governor Bush, and believes he would be a formidable candidate. However, Marco’s decision on whether to run for President or re-election will be based on where he can best achieve his agenda to restore the American Dream — not on who else might be running.”
Senator Rand Paul, another potential candidate declined to comment regarding the impact of the announcement of Jeb Bush on his time-frame for a presidential bid. However, he said, “I think we need to have a big tent and we can use moderates, conservatives, libertarians.”
Jeb Bush had 13% of support among Republicans assuming Mitt Romney will not run based on a mid-October survey conducted by ABC News and Washington Post. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio had 12% and 9% support, respectively.
Jeb Bush will remain as senior advisor to Barclays while exploring hi a 2016 presidential bid, according to a report from Fox Business News senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino.
