Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s supporters returned fire on a negative ad from Jeb Bush’s team, which released aggressive attacks against rival GOP presidential candidates on Tuesday.
Conservative Solutions PAC, which supports Rubio, is looking to capitalize off of Bush’s attacks as a fundraising opportunity. Warren Tompkins, the pro-Rubio PAC’s strategist, sent an email to supporters saying that Bush’s campaign has “tanked” and that the pro-Rubio super PAC needs donations to stop Bush’s team from ruining Rubio’s candidacy.
“[J]ust as we predicted, the attacks are coming fast and furious,” Tompkins wrote. “We might expect them from Hillary Clinton, as she sees Marco as the biggest threat to her winning the White House. We might expect them from Ted Cruz, as he sees Marco’s conservative record and strong foreign policy experience. But the attacks in Iowa are coming from Jeb Bush’s allies, from a candidate with no chance of winning in the state, or of winning the nomination, frankly.”
As part of his fundraising pitch, Tompkins warned of the millions of dollars Donald Trump is “primed to spend” as the GOP nominating contests begin.
Conservative Solutions PAC also released a new ad in response to the Bush supporters’ attacks. Right to Rise USA, a pro-Bush super PAC, released an ad on Tuesday attacking Rubio for missing votes in the U.S. Senate because of commitments to the senator’s presidential campaign.
The Rubio supporters’ ad notes that Bush trails Rubio in several polls before showcasing clips of Bush saying positive things about Rubio.
“I’m not good at, you know, playing like something I’m not; I am his friend and he’s mine,” Bush is shown saying about Rubio in the ad. “And I’m never going to disparage him.”
Since Bush and Rubio have squared off on the stump and the big stage of GOP presidential debates, the two candidates’ relationship appears to have soured. The ad shows older clips of Bush calling Rubio his “favorite,” gushing about their “close relationship,” and remarking that Rubio is “probably the most articulate conservative elected official on the scene today.”
After showing video of Bush heaping praise on Rubio, the ad ends with text appearing onscreen that reads, “POLITICS CHANGES SOME PEOPLE.”
Bush ranks fifth, one spot behind Rubio, in the Washington Examiner‘s newest GOP presidential power rankings.
