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Line 20: ==Background==
In [[Florida gubernatorial election, 1994|1994]], Bush was the Republican nominee for Governor of Florida, losing narrowly to the incumbent [[Lawton Chiles]]. Four years later, in [[Florida gubernatorial election, 1998|1998]], Bush ran again, defeating [[Lieutenant Governor of Florida|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Buddy MacKay]] (incumbent Governor Lawton Chiles would die in early December 1998, so although defeating McKay, Bush would succeed McKay who ascended upon Chiles' death). He was [[Florida gubernatorial election, 2002|reelected in 2002]] by a sizeable margin. Line 28 ⟶ 27: == Exploration of a candidacy == [[File:Jeb Bush by Gage Skidmore 5.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Jeb Bush speaking at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference in March 2015.]]
On December 16, 2014, Bush announced the formation of '''The Right to Rise PAC''', a Super PAC intended to serve as an exploratory committee and fundraising mechanism for a potential candidacy. While not formally a candidate, he was the first potential contender to make any major moves toward the beginning of the 2016 election cycle. Widely seen as the 'establishment' candidate, Bush was expected to court and win donors who were central to the [[United States presidential election, 2012|2012 presidential election]] on the Republican side. While having repeatedly said he wouldn't run again, 2012 nominee [[Mitt Romney|Governor Mitt Romney]] told donors in early January 2015 that he was seriously considering another run. With early polling showing significant [[buyer's remorse]] among many who voted for [[Barack Obama|President Obama]] in 2012, and showing that he would defeat Hillary Clinton, Romney likely saw it necessary to see if he could tap into his donor base again, to which Bush was the likely successor.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Romney Tells Donors He Is Considering 2016 White House Bid|url = http://www.wsj.com/articles/romney-tells-donors-he-is-considering-2016-white-house-bid-1420839312?mod=WSJ_hp_RightTopStories|newspaper = Wall Street Journal|date = January 10, 2015 |access-date = June 5, 2015|issn = 0099-9660|first = Patrick|last = O’Connor|first2 = Beth|last2 = Reinhard}}</ref> After several weeks' consideration, Romney chose against running again, after receiving criticism from many in his own party who wanted a fresher face, and having lost many staff who joined Bush's team before Romney reconsidered.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Support Waning, Romney Decides Against 2016 Bid|url = http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/us/mitt-romney-2016-presidential-election.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = January 30, 2015|access-date = June 5, 2015|issn = 0362-4331|first = Ashley|last = Parker|first2 = Jonathan|last2 = Martin}}</ref> With Romney conclusively out of the race, Bush was seen as the likely front runner for the nomination.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Why Romney bowed out - CNNPolitics.com|url = http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/30/politics/romney-exit-ticktock/index.html|website = CNN|accessdate = June 5, 2015}}</ref> | |||