Phil Ammann
Ahead of Jeb Bush’s official entry into the 2016 presidential race, Marco Rubio took to social media Monday morning to welcome the ex-governor – and former political mentor.
Last month, the 43-year-old Miami Republican entered the White House contest with a call for a new generation to take charge of America. Rubio was the third U.S. senator to enter the GOP field, joining Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.
Bush will announce his candidacy Monday afternoon in Miami. According to Frank Torres of OrlandoPolitics.com, both Rubio and Bush are the expected early frontrunners in the crowded Republican race.
Rubio tweeted his greeting for Bush twice, referring to his friendship with the former Florida governor.
For more than 17 years, the political paths of the two future presidential candidates intertwined: Bush a leader in Florida politics, Rubio a prodigy. In December 2000, Rubio was appointed speaker of the House during Bush’s final term in Florida’s first unified Republican administration since Reconstruction.
When Rubio was elected speaker in 2005, Bush presented him with a samurai sword in a ceremony on the Florida House floor, as a symbol that Rubio was a “conservative warrior.”
