Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took another step closer to making a White House run by announcing on Tuesday that he’s forming a new leadership political action committee.
Called the Right to Rise PAC, the organization will allow the presumed GOP contender to raise and spend money for political activities, including a possible presidential campaign in 2016, according to
Fox News.
"Today I'm launching Right to Rise, a leadership PAC dedicated to the idea that our positive, conservative, inclusive ideas can once again make America a place of unlimited opportunity," Bush wrote to "special friends" in his announcement.
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"It is discouraging to see so many of our citizens losing faith in the promise of America. Our nation is no longer leading at home or abroad. Today we begin to change that.
"I’m optimistic about our nation, but it is going to take hard work and strong leadership to preserve the American dream."
The formation of the leadership PAC means that Bush is taking a route similar to other potential GOP candidates in 2016, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, outgoing Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who also all have formed leadership PACs.
Bush’s PAC, which he announced on Twitter, is expected to pay for a large staff as well as for polling services and his trips across the country in a prelude to a formal presidential campaign.
In summing up the PAC’s mission, Fox News quoted a source close to Bush as saying, "We will celebrate success and risk taking, protect liberty, cherish free enterprise, strengthen our national defense, embrace the energy revolution, fix our broken and obsolete immigration system, and give all children a better future by transforming our education system through choice, high standards and accountability."
The PAC, along with a super PAC by Bush supporters, may have been initiated in part to show the power of Bush’s donor network and force would-be GOP rivals out of the race, according to Fox News.
Bush, son of former President George H.W. Bush and the brother of former President George W. Bush, is holding fundraisers in Florida, New York and Washington, D.C., in the upcoming weeks, and he also plans to meet with several major donors and GOP officials across the country.
He’s also said to be holding a private Greenwich, Connecticut, fundraiser on Wednesday, with the money going to his new PAC, Fox News reports.
In a video posted in English and Spanish on Facebook, Bush said his PAC will allow him to "support candidates who believe in conservative principles to allow all Americans to rise up."
Last month Bush announced in a Facebook message that he planned to "actively explore" a 2016 bid and form a leadership PAC. He has since stepped down from several corporate boards while divesting himself of certain financial investments, Fox News said.