Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., is looking hard at running for president in 2016 and he is putting some of his chief Republican rivals on notice.
New Jersey might be Gov. Chris Christies, R-N.J., backyard but Bush plans to hit the Garden State.The Bergen County Record reported that Bush is mining major Republican donors in New Jersey. Bush has already announced an exploratory presidential effort while Christie also has his eyes on running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
According to the Bergen County Record, Bush met with some prominent New Jersey Republican donors in New York City earlier in the month. The event was hosted by attorney Lawrence Bathgate who served as the Republican National Committees (RNC) finance chairman. Bathgate was one of the chief financial backers of President George H.W. Bush, the former Florida governors father, in his successful bid for the presidency in 1988.
According to CNN, Bush is also relying on staff with ties to another potential rival for the Republican nomination.
CNN reported late on Monday that Bush is turning to two aides with connections to former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., who has been sending up trial balloons for a third presidential bid in recent weeks. Megan Soward, who had been deputy general counsel for Romneys 2012 efforts, is headed to the Sunshine State with McDonald Hopkins, a law firm connected to the former Florida governor.
CNN is also reporting that Matt Gorman, who had worked on Romneys rapid response team, will join Bushs Right to Rise leadership PAC as part of the communications team. Kristy Campbell, a longtime Bush communications staffer, is also at Right to Rise. She also worked for Romney back in 2012 after her work for the American Conservative Union (ACU) and then Florida Attorney General Bill McCollums failed bid for the Republican gubernatorial nod back in 2010, is also at Right to Rise.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
