Jeb Bush on Wednesday reportedly dropped his biggest hint yet that he’s seriously considering running for president in 2016.
At a Catholic Charities fundraiser in New York, the Republican told a group that he’s “thinking about” running for the nation’s highest office, an attendee at the event told Politico and The New York Times. The former Florida governor said he would make a final decision after the midterm elections this year.
After the statement about 2016, Bush reportedly asked the receptive crowd: “Would you call and tell my mom?” The remark was in response to his mother Barbara Bush, who told NBC last April that she’s fine with having only one son as the commander-in-chief.
“There are other people out there who are very qualified and we’ve had enough Bushes,” the family matriarch declared.
Earlier in the day, former senior adviser to President Obama, David Axelrod, said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that he had “real doubts” as to whether Bush, a moderate, would actually run.
“Running in the Republican Party today is a hard thing to do. And I don’t think Jeb Bush wants to run for president and have to subjugate his principles like the last two nominees did," said Axelrod.
The former governor may have an uphill battle should he decide to throw his hat in the ring. According to a Rasmussen poll from earlier this month, 50% of likely U.S. voters said they are less likely to vote for Bush for president in 2016 because his father and brother have already served as president. Only 14% said the Bush family legacy makes them more inclined to vote for Bush, while 34% said it would have no impact on their decision.