Jeb Bush: I am considering Senate run

[WoodysGirl]

Carol E. Lee, Jonathan Martin – Tue Dec 2, 10:47 pm ET

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – the younger brother of the president – is weighing a run for the Senate seat currently held by Republican Mel Martinez.

Martinez announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in 2010. Asked whether he was interested in running for the seat then, Bush told Politico by email Tuesday night: “I am considering it.”

A source close to Bush said he'll be thoughtful and methodical about the decision-making process. He will consider the impact a race would have on his family and his business and whether or not the U.S. Senate is the best forum from which to continue his advocacy for the issues on which he’s focused, such as education, immigration, and GOP solutions to health care reform.

In an interview with Politico immediately after November’s election, the former governor said the Republican Party should take four primary steps to regain favor with voters: show no tolerance for corruption, practice what it preaches about limiting the scope of government (“There should not be such a thing as a big-government Republican”), stand for working families and small business, and embrace reform.

Bush said conservatives should “do the math of the new demographics of the United States,” explaining that the Republican Party “can’t be anti-Hispanic, anti-young person, anti many things and be surprised when we don’t win elections.”

Since Martinez's announcement Tuesday, Bush has received many phone calls and emails from Floridians and national Republicans urging him to run, the source close to him said Tuesday night.

Bush has kept a low-profile since leaving office in 2007, but he retains a strong following among Florida Republicans and would almost certainly clear the Republican field should he decide to run.

But he's in no hurry to decide, said a top adviser, and won't make a decision until after the new year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/200...politico/16155

[Danny White]

I'm more than a little tired of the Bushes... but I have always liked Jeb much better than W, so I can see the bright side of this... and he definitely gives the Republicans their best chance of holding onto that seat.

I'm also interested to see if Rudy gets into the NY Senate race now that Hillary is out of the way. He's the only Republican that can win that seat, IMO.

[Joe Rod]

Good Move! He's got about six years to build his credentials and keep the "President Bush Every eight years" trend going.

[arglebargle]

Jeb Bush was by far the smartest of the Bush boys. His points on steps for Republicans regaining power based on actually acting like they talk also sounds pretty good.

Still, having been in Florida at times during his governership, he made some of the same errors, favoring Big Insurance over the people's interests, and showing he was willing to push government power and ideology into personal affairs as in the Schiavo case.

Not a fan of social conservatives' attempts to hold on to their advantage, but at least Jeb is smart and reasonably competant. If he wants to stay in the political arena, he is going to have to do something to distance himself from the taint of his brother's negatives. Should make for an interesting race in 2010.