Bush Optimistic for New Hampshire Following Loss in Iowa
GOP Presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush finished the February 1st Iowa Caucus in sixth place with 2.8% of the vote. Bush came in behind Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson and Rand Paul. He beat John Kasich, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Chris Christie and Rick Santorum by fractions of a point.
Supporters had increased hopes for Bush in Iowa following his well-received performance in the January 28th debate at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. This GOP debate was notable for the absence of Donald Trump, who chose not to face moderator Megyn Kelly. Political scientists agree that Trump’s absence allowed Bush to “break through” because the front-runner wasn’t there to “bully” him. Although the debate gained Bush some positive media attention, he was still polling in the single digits throughout the weekend and into Monday’s caucus.
The Bush campaign is moving forward undeterred going into New Hampshire. Bush has consistently been polling more highly in The Granite State where fewer voters identify as religious conservatives and more as independent. Instead of waiting in Iowa to hear the final caucus count, Bush, along with Kasich and Christie, were already headed North East, holding events in Manchester and Concord, New Hampshire.
“The real race for the nomination begins on February 9th in New Hampshire,” the Bush campaign wrote. “The Jeb 2016 campaign has never made Iowa a centerpiece to winning the nomination. We have long viewed Iowa as just one of 56 contests, electing 30 delegates out of 2,472 going to the Convention to select our nominee. By contrast [to Iowa] New Hampshire has a much stronger record of indicating the eventual Republican nominee. The Republican Party’s previous two nominees [John McCain and Mitt Romney] lost Iowa and won New Hampshire.”
Despite the campaign’s claims that winning Iowa was not a priority, Bush’s donors spent more in Iowa than any presidential candidate in either party. His Super PAC, Right to Rise USA, spent nearly $15 million on advertisements in The Hawkeye State, which is approximately $2800 per vote. Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s donors only spent $6 million or roughly $143 per vote, which when put together with Cruz’s evangelical commentary, was enough to earn Cruz the top prize.
When asked how he felt his family name would impact his success in the primaries, Jeb Bush responded, “I’m Jeb, exclamation point.” In another interview, he added, “I’m proud to be a Bush.”
