Todd M. Siebert: Bushwhacked: Jeb spent $368 per vote in doomed campaign

Monday, 22 February 2016

Bushwhacked: Jeb spent $368 per vote in doomed campaign

Jeb Bush

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spent a whopping $368 per vote in his doomed Republican presidential campaign. That number does not even factor in the $100 million super PAC Right to Rise spent on his behalf.

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Aides to Bush’s campaign vehemently denied reports prior to Saturday’s primary election in South Carolina that their candidate was hemorrhaging cash. A fourth-place showing in the Palmetto State forced Bush to acknowledge reality before the clock struck midnight.

“The people of Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken,” Bush said during his concession speech. “I really respect their decision.”

Red State Editor Erick Erickson said Feb. 18 that Bush’s campaign would end Saturday.

“After having hundreds of millions of dollars on hand, the Bush Super PAC has less than $15 million from what I am being told,” Erickson said for the Resurgent.

Bush spokesman Tim Miller called Erickson’s reporting a “fake leak” by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Bush would hold back tears as his campaign officially died less than 48 hours later.

Number-crunching by the Washington Post on Sunday revealed GOP front-runner Donald Trump gets the most bang for the buck among his fellow candidates. Trump, who captured 32.5 percent of the vote on Saturday compared to Bush’s 7.9 percent, spent $64 per vote.

Bush’s campaign raised roughly $31 million through Jan. 31 to finish sixth, fourth and fourth in the first three Republican contests. Right to Rise raised $118 million.

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