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Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush officially exploring White House bid
Bush to establish leadership pack and begin traveling the country in January
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
MIAMI (CFP) — Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will “actively explore” the possibility of seeking the White House in 2016 — the clearest indication yet that he will try to follow his father and brother into the Oval Office.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
In an announcement posted on his Facebook page December 16, Bush said he decided to explore a Republican presidential bid after talking about it with his family over Thanksgiving.
“As a result of these conversations and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership I think America needs, I have decided to actively explore the possibility of running for president of the United States,” Bush said.
He also said he would establish a leadership PAC in January “that will help me facilitate conservations with citizens across America to discuss the most critical challenges facing our exceptional nation.”
Bush, 61, served as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is the son of former President George H.W. Bush and the brother of former President George W. Bush.
He had been mentioned as a possible GOP presidential contender in both 2008 and 2012 but opted out of both of those races.
Should he run, Bush will face what’s likely to be a crowded Republican field, with possibly five other Southerners in the mix.
Among the potential Southern GOP candidates are U.S. Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida; and Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Rick Perry of Texas.
On the Democratic side, former U.S. Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has already launched an exploratory committee for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination — a race that’s expected to be dominated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former first lady of Arkansas.
Former U.S. Senator Jim Webb opens presidential exploratory committee
Virginian is the first Democrat to make a move toward a nomination fight with Hillary Clinton
By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
BURKE, Virginia (CFP) — Former U.S. Senator Jim Webb has launched an exploratory committee for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination — a race that’s expected to be dominated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Former U.S. Senator Jim Webb
“We desperately need to fix our country and to reinforce the values that have sustained us, many of which have fallen by the wayside in the nasty debates of the last several years,” Webb said in an open letter published on his committee’s website.
“I look forward to listening and talking with more people in the coming months as I decide whether or not to run.”
Webb is the first Southerner in either party to make a move toward a presidential bid. However, at least six Southern Republicans are considering running, including U.S. Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida; Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Rick Perry of Texas; and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
Webb, 68, served as a Marine combat officer in Vietnam and was navy secretary during the Reagan administration. In 2006, he ran for the U.S. Senate and rode that year’s Democratic wave to a victory incumbent GOP U.S. Senator George Allen, which gave Democrats control over the upper chamber.
However, he opted not to seek re-election in 2012 after serving a single term.
While Webb was considered a Democratic moderate in the Senate, his exploratory committee announcement hinted that he may be planning to run against Clinton as an economic populist, noting that “the disparities between those at the very top and the rest of our society have only grown larger since the economic crash of late 2008 and early 2009.”
Webb also acknowledged that he faces “what many commentators see as nearly impossible odds” in securing the Democratic nomination.
“We are starting with very little funding and no full-time staff, but I’ve been here before,” he said. “In February 2006, I announced for the Senate only nine months before the election against an entrenched incumbent. We had no money and no staff. We were more than 30 points behind in the polls.”
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to decide on White House bid in first half of 2015
Jindal would be the first Indian-American to pursue the presidency
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
BATON ROUGE (CFP) — Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is “praying” about whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and will make a final decision in the first half of next year.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
“I haven’t made that decision,” Jindal said in a interview with NBC’s Meet The Press on November 16. “If I were to run for president, it’s because I believe in our country. The American dream is at jeopardy.”
“This president has defined the American dream as more dependence on the government. We need to restore the American dream, so it’s more about opportunity and growth and not redistribution.”
Jindal, 43, is in his second term as governor. Prior to being elected, he served in the U.S. House and was an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the administration of George W. Bush.
If he runs for the White House, Jindal would be the first Indian-American to pursue the office. No Louisianan has won the presidency since Zachary Taylor in 1848.
Jindal is one of a slew of potential Southern Republican presidential candidates in 2016, a list that includes U.S. Senators Rand Paul of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas; Texas Governor Rick Perry; and former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida.
State House Speaker Thom Tillis wins North Carolina GOP U.S. Senate primary
Tillis turns back a challenge from Tea Party favorite Greg Brannon and will now face Democratic U.S. Senator Kay Hagan in November
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
CHARLOTTE (CFP) — North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis has beaten back a Tea Party challenger to win the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate, avoiding a divisive and expensive primary runoff that could have hurt GOP chances to take the seat out of Democratic hands.
State House Speaker Thom Tillis
Tillis captured 46 percent in the May 6 primary, ahead of Tea Party favorite Greg Brannon with 27 percent and Mark Harris with 18 percent. Under state law, Tillis needed to clear 40 percent to avoid a runoff, which would have extended the primary fight until July 15.
He will now face Democratic U.S. Senator Kay Hagan in a race Republicans have targeted in their quest to gain a Senate majority.
Speaking to supporters at his victory rally in Charlotte, Tillis called Hagan an “echo chamber” for President Obama and vowed “to beat Kay Hagan and make (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid irrelevant in American life.”
“I want you all to grab a broom, and let’s sweep Kay Hagan out of office, and let’s sweep Harry Reid right into the back row,” he said.
Tillis, 53, from Charlotte, raised the most money, had the backing of the state GOP establishment and was endorsed by Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney and Governor Pat McCrory.
Brannon, 53, an obstetrician from Cary making his first bid for political office, ran with the backing of Tea Party organizations and FreedomWorks, an anti-establishment conservative group.
Brannon had hoped a last-minute, high-profile visit from Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul on the day before the primary would enable him to force Tillis into a runoff.
Harris, 48, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Charlotte, was one of the leaders behind a 2012 ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage in the Tar Heel State and was endorsed by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. In his first television ad, Harris vowed to “stand up and defend the values that are the foundation of our country.”
U.S. Senator Kay Hagan
Hagan, 60, first elected to the Senate in 2008, is considered among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents this year.
In a statement issued after the primary results came in, Hagan said Tillis’ “priorities are out of sync with our common sense North Carolina values.”
“As we say in our state toast, North Carolina is supposed to be a place ‘where the weak grow strong, and the strong grow great.’ I still believe in this ideal, but it is on the line this year as Thom Tillis has abandoned this shared value,” she said.
North Carolina is one of four Southern states carried by Romney in 2012 where seats held by Democrats are up for grabs this year.The others are Arkansas, Louisiana, and West Virginia.
Click here to watch video of Tillis’ victory rally from WSOC-TV.
Curt Clawson wins GOP primary for vacant Florida U.S. House seat
Clawson, who billed himself as the outsider in the race, will be heavily favored to win June’s special election
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
FORT MYERS, Florida (CFP) — Curt Clawson, a wealthy businessman and former basketball star at Purdue University, has won the Republican primary for the vacant 19th District U.S. House seat in Florida.
Republican nominee Curt Clawson
Clawson, 53, making his first bid for political office, defeated two veteran officeholders, State Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto and former state Rep. Paige Kreegel. Although Clawson claimed just 38 percent of the vote, he won the nomination without a majority because Florida does not have primary runoffs.
“I think we sent a pretty clear message tonight, and I think it’s a good time for an outsider or two in Congress,” Clawson said at his victory rally April 21.
Both Clawson and Benacquisto had big name endorsements — Clawson from U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Benacquisto from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
The 19th District, which is centered in Fort Myers and runs along the coast of southwest Florida, is heavily Republican, which will make Clawson will be a heavy favorite in the June 24 special election over Democrat April Freeman, who was unopposed for her party’s nomination.
The seat became vacant in January when first term U.S. Rep. Trey Radel resigned after pleading guilty to cocaine possession.
Clawson played on Purdue’s 1984 team that won the Big 12 Championship
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