On his first public swing through key presidential primary states as a would-be presidential candidate this week, Jeb Bush hit all the classic stops: Iowa, New Hampshire and then South Carolina.
But the former Florida governor’s travels also took him this week to Georgia, a less conventional stopover on the campaign trail that could this year hold greater sway in the Republican nominating process.
A bloc of at least three Southern states, including Georgia, is moving forward with plans to stage a primary March 1, the earliest date a primary can be held without penalty from the Republican National Committee, which mandates that the traditional primary states go first. Mississippi and Alabama will likely also be included, in addition to other states potentially.
“We think that the next president of the United States ought to come through the South and stand in your door and stand in your business and discuss the issues you think are important,” Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann told Fox News recently.
That timing would put the “SEC primary,” so called after the collegiate Southeastern Conference, ahead even of Florida’s vote, which will be held March 15, the state decided this week. Bush or Sen. Marco Rubio, also of Florida, are both expected to have a distinct advantage in that contest, which in past years has been influential in the primary process.
But Bush would likely face a challenging landscape in the deep South, where more conservative Republicans have historically fared best. In 2012, Rick Santorum drew out the Republican nominating contest by winning a string of Southern states over Mitt Romney.
This time, those states will enjoy even greater clout, and Bush is laying the groundwork early to be able to hold his own in SEC territory.
He began that process Thursday with a visit to the Georgia statehouse, where he met with Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, and addressed state lawmakers. Bush also encountered the rapper Ludacris, who hails from Atlanta.
“Never thought @Ludacris would be my opening act!” Bush tweeted.
Other likely Republican candidates for president have also begun to network in the South, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Santorum. More than a few potential candidates also hail from the South, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, which might give them an advantage in that stage of the primary.
