WASHINGTON
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush made his entry into the 2016 presidential race official Monday, promising supporters he would boost economic growth and improve opportunities for Americans.
“We will take Washington, the static capital of this dynamic country and turn it out of the business of causing problems, and will get it back on the right side of free enterprise and freedom for all Americans,” Bush, 62, said at an ecstatic campaign kickoff event at Miami Dade University filled with chants of “Jeb, Jeb, Jeb” and the familiar chorus of “USA, USA, USA”, from the audience.
“I know we can fix this, because I’ve done it,” he said, apparently referring to his time as governor from 1999-2007.
Bush became the latest Republican to enter the presidential fray, which now counts 11 candidates vying for the party’s nomination.
Several potential candidates, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, have yet to decide whether they too will announce bids.
A campaign logo revealed prior to the kickoff event simply read “Jeb!”, omitting the candidate’s last name, and the history of presidential politics that it carries.
Speaking to The Associated Press prior to Bush’s announcement, fellow Republican candidate Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said, “I think some people have had enough Bushes and enough Clintons.”
Neither his father, former President George H. W. Bush, nor his brother, George W. Bush, were present at Monday’s campaign event.
In a video message released before the rally, Bush framed his campaign around the marginalized as testimonials from minorities, a victim of domestic violence, and the parent of an autistic child spoke about benefits they received during Bush’s time as Florida’s governor.
“The most vulnerable in our society should be in the front line, not the back,” said Bush, who at times spoke in Spanish and whose wife is Mexican-born. “I’m proud of the fact that many families now have the chance to live lives of purpose and meaning.”
Republicans have struggled to make inroads with America’s minority groups, costing them dearly in the 2008 and 2012 presidential cycles.
