Yesterday Jeb Bush, whose brother and father have both occupied the position of president of the United States, announced that he is going to campaign to become the Republican Party candidate for the presidency in 2016. The 61-year-old former governor of Florida is the first Republican to make such a declaration and now puts the race for the White House in 2016 into high gear.
Although Bush’s statement did not include an official announcement of the creation of an exploratory committee, which would enable him to begin legally fundraising, his declaration to “actively explore the possibility” is a very strong sign that he will be doing just this. 2008 Republican nominee Senator John McCain says that he was expecting Bush to make the decision he has.
Of particular interest to many is Bush’s attitude toward immigration. His more moderate stance could harm his chances with some of the more Conservative members of the Republican members, while at the same time he is viewed as being less driven by ideology than the likes of Senator Ted Cruz, who has already declared that immigration will be one of the most critical issues of the 2016 election.
Mitt Romney, who lost the 2012 election to President Obama, says he is not intending to stand again. Romney’s loss is widely seen as being largely caused by his anti-immigrant stance, adopted in a bid to gain support from hardcore conservative Tea Party members of the Republican Party.