State: GOP lawmakers line up for Bush

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GOP lawmakers line up for Bush

After handing Gov. Jeb Bush legislative success, GOP lawmakers are looking to give his big brother the presidency.

By PETER WALLSTEN

TALLAHASSEE -- After giving Gov. Jeb Bush nearly everything he wanted in his first legislative session, Florida Republican lawmakers are ready to deliver for another Bush.

At least 90 of the state's 97 GOP legislators have signed pledge cards to support Texas Gov. George W. Bush in his bid for president, strengthening the notion that Florida could function as a home state for Jeb Bush's older brother.

"It's pretty encouraging," said Jeb Bush.

Florida's governor did not want to talk much about his brother's campaign until the end of the legislative session two weeks ago, but Wednesday he said he plans to help.

George W. Bush is tentatively scheduled to make a multicity fund-raising tour through Florida around June 25, including Tampa.

"I'm going to campaign for him selectively around the country, and help him here, obviously, in Florida" Jeb Bush told the Times in a brief interview. "I think he's going to be very strong here."

Republican lawmakers in Florida began working during their session last month to line up pledges for the Texas governor. As of Wednesday, 70 of the 72 Republicans in the state House had signed on, along with 20 of 25 GOP senators.

One conspicuous name missing from the list: Senate President Toni Jennings. She once considered challenging Jeb Bush in the governor's race and later criticized the power of special interests that boosted his campaign.

Jennings, who was in Washington this week to explore a possible candidacy for U.S. Senate, did not return a telephone call. But state Sen. John Grant, a Tampa Republican who helped organize the pledge drive for the Texas governor, said Jennings wanted to be the last senator to sign on.

The Florida pledge drive mirrors efforts in at least 19 other states, where legislators have signed on to support George W. Bush. More than a dozen governors also have pledged support. A Florida delegation, led by House Speaker John Thrasher and Rep. Dennis Jones, R-Treasure Island, had been scheduled to travel to Austin this week to deliver the pledge cards, but a scheduling conflict has delayed the trip.

"He's got good name ID," Jones said of the Texas governor. "He's got good charisma with the voters. Agewise, he's postured himself in a great position to be president for eight years."

Indeed, it is George W. Bush's ability to win that might explain the early support.

"I think that George W. Bush, of all the candidates, represents the mainstream of the Republican Party and the mainstream of America," Grant said. "That's what it's going to take to win the election."

Bush's competitors in the 2000 GOP primary say they are not surprised that GOP lawmakers wishing to please their governor in Florida would endorse his brother, but they are not ceding defeat.

"Clearly the establishment has gotten on board with George W. Bush," said Howard Opinsky, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. John McCain's exploratory committee. "There is an inherent advantage of having your sibling as the state's chief executive. But there is a tremendous amount of support for John McCain across the state."

In Florida, the two House Republicans who declined to sign Bush pledge cards were Reps. Sharon Merchant of Palm Beach Gardens and James Fuller of Jacksonville. Merchant, calling Elizabeth Dole an "interesting candidate," said it was too early to pick her favorite. Fuller said he was loyal to McCain, who was his commanding officer when he served in the Navy.

"It seems very early to me before positions are stated to make a decision on a candidate," Merchant said.

Besides Jennings in the Senate, the holdouts are Sens. William "Doc" Myers of Hobe Sound, Roberto Casas of Miami, Jim Scott of Fort Lauderdale and Daniel Webster of Ocoee. Scott is expected to sign on soon, and Webster said Wednesday he will wait before choosing.

Meanwhile, national attention continues to focus on the Bush brothers.

With Jeb Bush's first-term successes and George Bush's recent struggles with the Texas Legislature, columnist Paul Gigot of the Wall Street Journal recently wrote that the Florida governor might have been a better presidential candidate at one point.

The notion rankled Jeb Bush.

"I don't like the stories that are flattering me to make my brother look bad," he said.

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