Six months after he launched an exploratory bid, at an event in Miami on Monday, former Gov. Jeb Bush formally entered the 2016 presidential race, hoping to follow his father’s and brother’s paths to the Republican nomination and the White House.
In his campaign launch, Bush focused on his record in Tallahassee as he looks to win over conservative primary voters, wary of the former Florida governor’s stance on immigration and support of Common Core.
Insisting the stakes have never been higher, Bush called for more economic opportunity and jabbed former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the favorite for the Democratic nomination, saying she would continue the policies of President Barack Obama.
“You and I know America deserves better,” Bush told the cheering crowd. “The presidency should not be passed down from one liberal to the next.”
Bush announced his candidacy, saying he would fight the Obama administration’s policies.
"Our country's on a very bad course and the question is what are we going to do about it?" Bush said. “I am a candidate for president of the United States.”
Bush looked ahead to the election and tried to contrast his record in Tallahassee with the federal government’s, calling for changing Washington and taking aim at lobbying.
“We will take command of our future once again in this country,” Bush said. “We will lift our sights again, make opportunity common again, get events in the world moving our way again. We will take Washington – the static capital of this dynamic country – out of the business of causing problems. We will get back on the side of free enterprise and free people. I know we can fix this. Because I’ve done it.
“We made Florida No. 1 in job creation and No. 1 in small-business creation; 1.3 million new jobs, 4.4 percent growth, higher family income, eight balanced budgets, and tax cuts eight years in a row that saved our people and businesses $19 billion,” Bush noted. “All this plus a bond upgrade to Triple-A compared to the sorry downgrade of America’s credit in these years. That was the commitment, and that is the record that turned this state around. I also used my veto power to protect our taxpayers from needless spending.”
During his speech, Bush swiped at some of his rivals, insisting legislators do not make good presidents and hit the Obama administration on everything from its federal health-care law and its infringement on religious groups to foreign affairs and military spending. Bush also promised to fight for school choice at the national level.
“We will take power away from union bureaucrats and give it back to the parents,” Bush said.
Often switching into Spanish, Bush made an appeal to Hispanics on Monday, launching a Web video in Spanish and promising to reach out to all Americans in his speech.
“In any language, my message will be an optimistic one because I am certain that we can make the decades just ahead in America the greatest time ever to be alive in this world,” Bush said. “That chance, that hope requires the best that is in us, and I will give it my all. I will campaign as I would serve, going everywhere, speaking to everyone, keeping my word, facing the issues without flinching, and staying true to what I believe. I will take nothing and no one for granted. I will run with heart. I will run to win."
Heckled by an activist demanding action on immigration, Bush fired back, “The next president will pass meaningful immigration reform so that that will be solved – not by executive order.”
Bush’s old ally U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is also running for the Republican nomination, praised the former governor as a “passionate advocate for what he believes" and insisted he was a friend.
“In politics, people throw around the word ‘friend’ so much it often has little real meaning,” Rubio posted on Twitter. “When I call Jeb Bush my friend, I mean it.”
"I’m glad to welcome Jeb Bush to the growing and diverse field of 2016 GOP candidates,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is also running for the nomination. “Gov. Bush is a good man and was a strong governor in Florida. I look forward to a productive and thoughtful debate on the issues most important to Republican voters as the 2016 GOP primary season gets into full swing. Gov. Bush brings a lifetime of service to this field, and his candidacy ensures our eventual nominee will be all the stronger and equipped to face Hillary Clinton in the general election."
Bush’s opponents came out firing with conservatives hitting him on immigration -- including former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who is also running for the Republican nomination -- while Democrats slammed the former Florida governor from the left.
“Jeb Bush’s announcement later today that he’ll seek the Republican 2016 nomination is good news if you happen to be Jeb Bush or someone like him. Throughout his career, Jeb Bush has consistently put what is best for himself and those at the top above the priorities of working Americans,” insisted U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). “As governor of Florida, Jeb Bush slashed taxes by billions, largely benefiting the wealthy and corporations. Since leaving public office more than eight years ago, Bush has leveraged his family name to reap profits for himself, immersing himself in problematic corporate business deals and cashing in on Wall Street while Americans were hit by the financial crisis.
“We already know what to expect from a Bush presidency, because we’ve seen it before. Jeb Bush supported his brother’s disastrous economic and foreign policies that made us weaker at home and abroad. He supported his brother’s plan to privatize Social Security and endorsed a budget that would end Medicare as we know it," Wasserman Schultz added. “But what makes the specter of a Jeb Bush presidency even more unpalatable is his belief in his own superiority and infallibility – in my 22 years in elected office I have never worked with someone who is as inflexible, uncompromising, and willing to do whatever it takes to get their way as Jeb Bush. These are not the qualities Americans need in their president if we are going to work together to get things done. On issue after issue, Jeb Bush’s indifference toward the concerns of the middle class, women, students, immigrants, seniors and the LGBT community shows he is as out of step with the American people as every other candidate in the Republican field.”
Florida Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), welcomed Bush into the race.
“The Republican Party of Florida is excited to welcome Gov. Jeb Bush to the race for president. He has proven himself as a dedicated leader to our state and will be a strong addition to the debate ahead," Ingoglia said. “With two of Florida’s great leaders now in the race it is a historic time for our state. While the RPOF will remain neutral during the primary, our organization will continue to strengthen our digital infrastructure, expand our engagement with voters, and keep Democrats accountable so that we can deliver Florida’s 29 electoral votes to a strong Republican nominee.”
Bush has garnered the endorsements of some of the leading politicians in Florida, including more than 10 members of Congress, the three Republicans sitting in the state Cabinet, and former U.S. Sens. Mel Martinez and George LeMieux. While he leads in some polls of key states, including New Hampshire and Iowa, Bush is generally tied with some of the other candidates in national surveys.
Former first lady Barbara Bush, the mother of the new candidate, attended the event on Monday, but former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush were not there. The new candidate praised his family and even offered a funny line.
"I'm a guy who met his first president on the day he was born and his second on the day he was brought home from the hospital,” Bush said.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
