In the last few weeks, we have heard a lot from the mainstream media about a possible 2016 presidential race between Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. I think the press just likes the idea, and to promote it they are presenting the assumption that Bush is the leading Republican candidate. Of course, that is not true. There is no leading Republican candidate -- none that can claim even 20% support from the Republican base.
And when you consider the public at large, it becomes clear that most Americans don't want another Bush to run for president. As the chart above shows, only 10% of Americans think Jeb Bush should run for president, while 64% say the Republicans should choose another candidate. The numbers are from a recent Rasmussen Poll -- done on December 28th of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a margin of error of 3 points.
The chart below shows that Republicans aren't much more excited about a Bush candidacy. This Rasmussen Poll (done on December 28th of a random sample of 1,000 likely Republican voters, with a similar 3 point margin of error) shows that only a third of them (33%) think Jeb Bush should run for president. About 34% don't want him to run, and another 33% aren't sure what to think.
Bush may be the favorite GOP candidate of the media, but he's still got a lot of convincing to do before he becomes acceptable to Republicans, or the general voting public.
