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Jeb 
Thu Jan 17, 2013 at 04:20 PM CST
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 George P. Bush has officially entered the field for statewide office and is giving the Texas Republican establishment a run for its money, literally. The fresh face has raised over $1.35 million from some less than fresh sources, 90% of which come from Texas and Florida. His biggest contributors include homebuilder Bob Perry, his uncle and former President George Bush, his father Jeb Bush and a host of oil and gas interests. At least 10 of his top donors were "Pioneer" fundraising bundlers for either of his uncle's Presidential campaigns and over 10% or $113,300 came directly from Bush family members.
Other than his obvious pedigree his political experience includes Co-founding the Hispanic Republicans of Texas and as National Co-Chair of Maverick PAC. His candidacy could upset the establishment's natural line of succession but it also has many looking at whether he can bring more Hispanic voters into the Republican fold. He has expressed that he is a "mainstream Republican" with Tea Party sympathies and told Wolf Blitzer in a 2012 interview that what he, "love[s] about the [Republican] Party is that its extremely diverse", and is an "advocate of the big tent theory". He has currently expressed interest in running for Texas Land Commissioner but has left the door open to a higher profile office (likely Attorney General or Governor) depending on what signal Rick Perry sends at the end of the session. He told the Texas Tribune this week that, "in the grand scheme of things, this session, in terms of state politics, is really going to dictate what the '14 election cycle looks like."
Hat tip to Texans for Public Justice for the research.
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