Phil Ammann
Jeb Bush is returning to the old stomping ground — Tallahassee — to set up a new political team.
Now that Mitt Romney has officially bowed out from the 2016 presidential race, Bush’s Right to Rise political action committee is moving forward in the Florida capitol, reports Marc Caputo of the Miami Herald. Preparations are for if (and when) the former governor pulls the trigger on a White House run.
Tallahassee is the perfect choice for Bush’s political team, Caputo says, a place filled with both loyalists and former employees – particularly Sally Bradshaw, Jeb’s longtime advisor.
“It reflects the overall ethos that Jeb has,” according to Bush intimate Brett Doster, “a sense of cause, a sense of principle that he inspired in others.” Doster served as Mitt Romney’s Florida campaign manager in 2012.
“People get into politics to be part of something greater than themselves,” Doster told the Herald, “and Jeb Bush gave them an outlet.”
Bush’s increased Tallahassee activity also coincides with the turmoil currently infecting the Republican Party of Florida.
Gov. Rick Scott is indicating he will not do any fundraising for the RPOF after the loss of Leslie Dougher, his handpicked candidate, in a grassroots revolt earlier this month. Another sign of distress came when the Florida Senate abruptly cleared out of its RPOF offices.
Bush’s tenure as head of the Florida Republicans did not have the acrimony within the state GOP as of late. For those longing for the harmony of the Bush era, locating the Right opt Rise PAC in Tallahassee is a welcome change.
Bush’s Tallahassee PAC staff includes longtime Bush confidante Sally Bradshaw; Spokesperson Kristy Campbell, fresh from Washington; Matt Gorman, the 2014 rapid-response director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, who also moved from D.C. to Florida. Also on board are Jesse Hunt, a former deputy communications director for New Hampshire Republican Scott Brown in his U.S. Senate campaign; and former Republican National Committee deputy finance director Josh Venable.
PAC staffers who are also Tallahassee natives, and closely aligned to Bush are Karen Unger, who served with Bush in his 2002 re-election campaign, and was the 1998 field director for Bush in Broward and Palm Beach; Brandi Brown, former external affairs director for Bush’s foundation , leaving for a similar role at Right to Rise. Pablo Diaz was Pam Bondi’s 2014 campaign manager and a former lead lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Business/Florida. Diaz was a deputy executive director of the RPOF and worked with newly elected Chair Blaise Ingoglia, to oversee transition efforts.
