Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says he sees no reason to spend $1 billion on a presidential campaign as both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama did in 2012 and as Hillary Clinton is expected to do for 2016.
"I don’t think it’s necessary if you run the right kind of campaign," Bush said during a Q&A before a donor retreat in Miami Beach,
The New York Times reported. "You don’t need to have these massive amounts of money spent."
The Times called Bush's statement "an implicit critique of the emerging campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton" since the presumptive Democratic nominee is expected to raise and spend that much in her quest for the Oval Office.
But it could also be a result of Bush's own
unexpected struggles in fundraising.
Politico reported last week that Bush, once seen as the winner of the fundraising race, now faces serious challenges from the broad field of GOP contenders, many of whom have found their own billionaires to back their campaigns.
The comment could trap Bush if he ends up hitting the $1 billion mark after all, the Times noted. And Bush has pushed harder than any other candidate to raise money for his Right to Rise super PAC, run by close aides and through which unlimited funds can be raised to presumably be spent to promote Bush's own candidacy.
"In effect, Mr. Bush is offloading major costs of his likely campaign to 'independent' groups that can raise and spend unlimited money," the Times wrote. "Some donors have suggested that corporations and big donors will spend more to aid Mr. Bush during the Republican primaries than Mr. Bush’s own campaign."