Leading his announcement with a “happy Hanukkah” and hosting a menorah lighting party, former Florida governor Jeb Bush has already secured the backing of prominent Jewish donors for his potential bid for president in 2016.
“I was back in New York on Sunday and everybody was going up to me: What about Jeb? What about Jeb? What about Jeb?” Jewish bundler Fred Zeidman, a Houston-based fundraiser who he has helped raise money for the Bush family in the past., remarked.
Zeidman told the National Journal Tuesday that Bush’s impact will be felt from New York to Florida to Texas, where Bush’s older brother, George W. Bush, served two terms as governor in the 1990s. “What will be interesting to see is what happens with the Texans. Jeb has not had a natural constituency here in Texas. We’ll now see who out of the Bush loyalists will jump on the next Bush,” he said. ”
Fred’s son, Jay Zeidman, is also close to Bush’s son, George P. Bush, and served as national cochairman of his Maverick PAC. In addition, Jay was a Bush 43 White House Jewish Liaison.
Another Jewish bundler, Mel Sembler said that while he’s an “admirer” of new Jersey Governor Chris Christie, he is lining up behind Jeb Bush in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries..
