Jeb Bush's 2016 preparations alarm Democrats and conservatives
Organizations on both the left and the right are already attempting to raise money by sounding the alarm over former Gov. Jeb Bush's preparations for a potential 2016 campaign.
"Jeb Bush is starting to run for president... Think about how President Bush worked out last time," the Democratic National Committee wrote in an email to supporters. The email encourages people to "Chip in $10 or more and help Democrats beat him."
Meanwhile, an outside group called the Conservative Action Fund is asking its supporters to sign a petition against Bush's potential candidacy and make a donation to keep up the opposition.
"Will you support a nominee who supports amnesty for illegal immigrants, the Washington takeover of our educational system (known as Common Core), and is already talking about raising taxes?" asks the email, signed by Conservative Action Fund chairman Shaun McCutcheon. "If your answer is No... or Hell No... then I need you to act right now before Republicans nominate another loser to represent us in 2016."
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The former Florida governor on Tuesday announced in a Facebook message that he will he will "actively explore" the possibility of running for president in 2016. While he has yet to establish an official presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission, Bush will soon establish a leadership PAC, which would allow him to raise money other candidates and for his own political travel and expenses.
While both liberal and conservative groups immediately came out in opposition to his potential candidacy, Bush's potential GOP opponents on Tuesday gave cooler responses to the news.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, "has a lot of respect for Governor Bush, and believes he would be a formidable candidate," Rubio's spokesman Alex Conant said. "However, Marco's decision on whether to run for President or re-election will be based on where he can best achieve his agenda to restore the American Dream -- not on who else might be running."
When asked about Bush's potential candidacy, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky told a reporter, "The more the merrier."
A spokesman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry told the Washington Post that Bush's moves will not impact what Perry decides to do. Perry "will still raise a significant amount of money," the spokesman said.
A source close to former Gov. Mitt Romney told CBS News political director John Dickerson that this does not affect Romney's thinking, though Romney has told one supporter recently that he would not run for president again if Bush were to run.
