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Jeb Bush launches 2016 White House bid
  • | AFP, Reuters | June 16, 2015 08:20 AM
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush finally launched his US presidential campaign Monday, pledging to "run with heart" as he seeks to move beyond his contentious political pedigree.


The 62-year-old former Florida governor made his announcement in a 3pm EDT (1900 GMT) speech at Miami-Dade College, a school whose multicultural student population was chosen to emphasis Bush’s commitment to trying to expand the appeal of the white-dominated .

"I will take nothing and no one for granted," the 62-year-old Bush, a son and brother of two ex-presidents, told a crowd of supporters at a university in Miami. "I will run with heart. I will run to win."

Following years in the political trenches for his family, Republican Jeb Bush is finally carving out his own path to the White House.

Should he prevail in his 2016 campaign, Jeb would be the third Bush to occupy the top job as a Republican in a row, an achievement that would cement them as the most powerful dynasty in US history.

The pragmatic conservative will have to convince his party's base that he is in their corner, while maintaining sufficiently centrist positions to attract the independents needed to win.

Strongly pro-business and anti-abortion, Bush has vowed to be a "happy warrior" on the trail.

‘Jeb is different from George’

John Ellis Bush has bucked party orthodoxy, making far-right voters wince at his support for immigration reform, controversial federal education standards and a theoretical willingness to hike taxes as part of a deficit-cutting deal -- virtual apostasy in Republican circles.

Bush insists legalising millions of undocumented workers is the immigration debate's "grown-up plan" -- one that will fuel economic growth, unlike the mass deportations advocated by some hard-liners.

Bush, who backed the Iraq war but recognised "there were mistakes made" there during his brother's presidency, has also acknowledged potential pitfalls of running on the family name.

"Jeb is different than George, and Jeb is who he is," he asserted in a CNN interview in Estonia that aired Sunday at the end of a Europe trip.

In his speech and in subsequent campaign stops in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina this week, Bush said he would make it a top priority to generate higher growth in the US economy and create as many as 19 million jobs.

Long and contentious battle

Bush’s path to the nomination will be difficult. He is joining a Republican field where there are already 10 candidates who have declared their intention to run, and faces some solid competitors in Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and others.

He held an early lead in polls of Republican voters when he first began talking about a White House run six months ago, but that has now dissipated. He is essentially tied for the lead with a host of challengers. Not helping was a fumbled response to a question about the Iraq war last month.

Bush advisers say he is prepared for a long, contentious battle for the nomination. A Bush victory is by no means certain in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina, the first three states to stage party nominating contests on the road to the November 2016 election.


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