Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:46 pm
Faced with an inability to raise money and a complete rejection by Republican voters, Jeb Bush has suspended his presidential campaign.
During a tearful speech in South Carolina, Bush thanks his volunteers and supporters while ending his campaign. Bush framed his campaign as a roadmap for future conservative leaders, but in reality, Bush’s campaign was a gross miscalculation by the Republican establishment.
Bush never looked or sounded like a comfortable candidate, and his campaign was ten years out of date. Bush was the Republican front-runner based on name value and fundraising power alone. The Bush campaign made the critical early mistake of throwing all of their fundraising into super PACs.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
The super PAC strategy was a miserable failure. The super PACs were only good for running negative ads. Jeb Bush could never energize the Republican base, and his support for comprehensive immigration reform doomed his candidacy.
Bush was wonky and moderate in an election where a reality television star who knows nothing about the issues is dominating the Republican field. Jeb Bush was the original great white hope of the Republican Party.
It’s fitting that the Bush dynasty officially died on the same night that Donald Trump took the GOP down to a new low.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
