Family Plan
Jeb Bush Aims to Win Over His Brother's Backers
What many saw as a bug of his candidacy—his brother's presidency—is, remarkably, now among its central features. Will that closeness cost him later?
Jeb Bush shows off a Reagan/Bush '84 T-shirt as he speaks during a Miami field office opening on Sept. 12, 2015.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Sam Wilson loves George W. Bush. A loyal Republican voter in Iowa, Wilson spent a chilly caucus night 15 years ago arguing with neighbors about why the then-Texas governor should be the presidential nominee. He calls Bush “one of best presidents this country has ever had,” and recently made a pilgrimage to visit the ex-president's library some 860 miles away.
“I got goosebumps when I walked in there, because I just think he was absolutely top notch,” Wilson said.