After flopping in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Jeb Bush is ready to hit the campaign trail again.
The former governor will take the stump for Congressman David Jolly who is running to defend his seat in Pinellas County. Jolly is expected to face former Governor Charlie Crist who succeeded Bush in the governor’s mansion before leaving the GOP to run with no party affiliation for the Senate in 2010 and then for governor in 2014 as the Democratic nominee.
As he announced his support for Jolly, Bush held his fire.
“I’m excited David Jolly decided to run for his congressional seat and I plan on actively campaigning for his re-election,” Bush said on Monday. “Representative Jolly has done what any congressman should do and that’s do the job that he was elected to do. I am proud to support him in this race.”
“It’s an honor to receive such enthusiastic support from Governor Bush,” said Jolly. “Jeb worked tirelessly for all Floridians as Governor and especially for children throughout Pinellas and the entire nation as an advocate for education reform. We share this commitment to education, particularly when it comes to improving early childhood education and student readiness. I look forward to working with Governor Bush and families throughout Pinellas on these and other important priorities.”
But Jolly doesn’t have an open path to the Republican nomination. Retired Marines General Mark Bircher, who placed third behind Jolly in the Republican primary back in 2014, is back for a rematch. Bircher’s campaign is trumpeting a major announcement on Monday night.
While he started off strong in the polls as he looked to follow his father’s and brother’s path to the White House, Bush stumbled badly in the presidential race, getting eclipsed by Donald Trump. After poor showings in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Bush dropped out of the presidential race and threw his support to Ted Cruz at the end of March.
