Has Jeb Bush scored his first win of the 2016 Republican presidential primaries?
David Kochel, a key Iowa-based strategist for both of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns, is signing up with Bush’s political action committee, The New York Times reported.
“I really believe Governor Bush is the right person for the right time,” Kochel told the Times. “He has a successful conservative record in Florida, and I’d put that record up against anybody else.”
Romney started moving toward an unexpected third presidential campaign after Bush announced he was exploring a run, suggesting that the 2012 Republican nominee was trying to freeze his donors and staff in place. Kochel’s move is the latest sign Romney 3.0 is encountering skepticism. (RELATED: Former Mega-Donor Articulates Opposition To Mitt Romney 2016)
The hiring of Kochel may also suggest Bush is prioritizing the Iowa caucuses, which past establishment-friendly Republican contenders like John McCain and Rudy Giuliani have bypassed in recent years.
Jeb Bush’s older brother was able to prevent the emergence of a candidate to his right in 2000 by beating Steve Forbes handily in the caucuses.
George W. Bush was also later quoted as observing, “I whupped Gary Bauer’s ass in 2000.” Alan Keyes came in third.
Their father, George H.W. Bush, made it onto the Republican ticket in 1980 after beating Ronald Reagan in the Iowa caucuses that year. The eldest Bush only finished third there in 1988, finishing behind Bob Dole and Pat Robertson.
“This is a reflection of Governor Bush’s intent, should he go forward with a campaign, to make the race focused on early states, Super Tuesday states and running governors-style races,” a Jeb Bush adviser told The New York Times. “This is not going to be a D.C.-driven, top-down structure. That’s not the Jeb Bush way.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has also expressed interest in contesting Iowa, speaking at a conservative gathering there last weekend. (RELATED: Christ Christie Says He And The People Of Iowa Do Get Along)
Romney finished second in the Iowa caucuses in both his previous presidential campaigns, but the 2012 results were so close that it was initially reported he won.
Kochel is in line to be Bush’s national campaign manager, The New York Times reported.
It’s been reported that Bush hopes to raise $100 million in the first three months of his campaign to scare off potential rivals, though his aides later denied the reports.
W. James Antle III is managing editor of The Daily Caller and author of the book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped? Follow him on Twitter.