They’re calling it Jeb Bush’s “$100 million May.”
The former Florida governor’s Right to Rise political action committee is expected to have a massive fundraising haul this month. Such ambitious figures have been thrown around (and denied) before but Bush has undeniably been effective in tapping the thickest Rolodex of all the potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates.
Bush has already reportedly raised more money in the first 100 days than any Republican operation in history. And he has yet to launch an official campaign, which would be limited to donations of up to $2,700 per person.
Politico quotes someone aligned with a rival Republican campaign as saying Bush’s prodigious fundraising is instilling fear in the rest of the field. “People are looking at that $100 million figure and wondering, ‘Is it going to be aimed at us?'”
Yet so far, the only major Republican Bush seems to have scared out of the race is Mitt Romney. The Washington Examiner’s Byron York points out that 14 candidates are included in the RealClearPolitics polling average, with nearly half of them at least hovering around double digits some of the time. Marco Rubio is even ignoring their Florida connection and giving up a Senate seat to throw his hat into the ring.
Maybe that will change. It took until October 1999 for George W. Bush’s fundraising success to drive Elizabeth Dole from the 2000 presidential race. Lamar Alexander dropped out in August, but that had more to do with his sixth place finish in the Iowa straw poll.
At this insanely early date, however, we’re looking at a highly competitive and fluid GOP race despite the $100 million man sitting atop the field.
Here’s where money can become a problem for Bush’s foes: If the ex-governor emerges from the early states in a competitive position, who else is better equipped for when the race progresses to advertising in multiple expensive media markets at the same time?
That’s when the Republican establishment usually wins.
