Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, left, poses for a photo with Army veteran Clint Jones after participating in the Libre Initiative’s policy forum series, “The Libre Forum: Unlimited Opportunities in a Free Society,” at the College of Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015.
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015 | 2 a.m.
Although he may have begun the race as a prohibitive favorite in the Silver State, after months of low national poll numbers and a retrenchment that cut campaign payroll by 40 percent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush may be struggling, but not, his campaign says, in the all-important state of Nevada.
While similar cuts presaged the early exit of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the Bush campaign has said it’s not going anywhere. The cost cutting has been pitched as a strategy to double down in key states like Nevada. “We are moving our resources into the states to ensure that [early] voters in primary and caucus states are introduced to his record and vision for the future,” said Emily Benavides, a Bush campaign spokeswoman.
The Bush campaign boasts that it has the most extensive field operations in four early nominating states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
“He’s not going anywhere,” said Ed William, the chairman of the Clark County Republican Party.
Nevada’s caucus — 119 days away — will measure how well Bush stacks up against two challengers seen as playing strongly in Nevada: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and real estate mogul Donald Trump.
Bush has less cash on hand than Rubio, a first-term senator 21 years his junior. The Bush-Rubio comparison comes down to experience, said Cory Christensen, a political consultant who ran Mitt Romney's 2012 Nevada campaign. “Everyone talks about Marco as the future of the party,” Christensen said. “The question is whether the future is today.”
For now, Bush will have to claw back into the forefront of the nominating conversations currently dominated by Trump, who has loomed over Bush since the beginning of the race. For some, the Trump campaign will likely sputter to a halt. “With some of Bush’s challengers, there’s too much sizzle and not enough steak,” Christensen said. “If you make a lot of noise people are going to pay attention but they are not looking at what’s actually being said.”
Will that come too late for Bush? His campaign hopes it won’t.
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