Jeb Bush learned a lesson this week as he continues to kick around running for president in 2016: it’s not his father’s Republican Party anymore and it’s also not his brother’s.
After holding a fundraiser for Senate candidates in Tampa earlier this week, Bush headed to North Carolina to campaign with Thom Tillis. As Republicans look to take back the Senate from Democrat control, Tillis is in a key race as he looks to take down Kay Hagan.
Bush had been an early Tillis backer, even hitting the campaign trail with him in the days before the Republican primary. But, after Bush spoke on education and immigration on Wednesday, Tillis tried to leave a little space between himself and the former Florida governor, even as they campaigned together.
During his trip to North Carolina, Bush weighed in on two issues conservatives are currently engaged on: Common Core and immigration. On both of those issues, Bush and conservatives hold very different opinions. No nationally prominent Republican has backed Common Core as much as Bush has while conservatives are increasingly critical of those educational standards. Much of Bush’s national reputation is based on his education record. Education has also been Bush’s top priority since leaving office. But it’s an issue that could come back to haunt him in 2016 as he continues to champion Common Core and conservatives are still unhappy about No Child Left Behind which has George W. Bush’s fingerprints all over it.
On immigration, Jeb Bush also finds himself isolated from the GOP base. Bush has been a vocal supporter of creating a path to citizenship for illegal aliens. No Republican at the national level was more critical of Arizona’s immigration law than Bush. Like Common Core, Bush’s stance on immigration will hurt him with conservatives who come out in droves during the Republican presidential primaries.
The conventional wisdom is Bush’s last name will hurt him with voters if he runs in 2016. Even after Barack Obama’s underwhelming presidency, not many Americans are looking back fondly to when George W. Bush sat in the Oval Office.
But the former Florida governor could find his positions on Common Core and immigration more politically damaging than the Bush name, especially in Iowa which holds the first caucus. Even as Republican candidates welcome Bush’s assistance in helping their campaigns raise funds, they’e not exactly on board with him on some of the issues conservatives care the most about. That’s not a good sign if Jeb Bush wants to follow his father and his brother to the White House in 2016.
