Bush hits trail for Senate hopefuls — but not Cruz
AUSTIN — Former President George W. Bush is hitting the campaign trail for U.S. Senate candidates in Florida, North Dakota and Missouri — but so far has no planned events to help U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
Bush is the headliner for a fundraiser this afternoon in Tampa for Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate. He later goes to Palm Beach County in Florida for another fundraiser with Scott on Friday.
Next week, Bush is expected to hold a fundraiser for North Dakota U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Cramer and U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, according to Politico. In October, Bush will headline fundraisers for U.S. Senate candidates Josh Hawley of Missouri and Mike Braun of Indiana.
Bush helping in Florida is not surprising. While the former president and Laura Bush still live in Texas, they are frequent visitors to Florida’s west coast, where the Bush family regularly vacations. And of course, Jeb Bush was governor of Florida for eight years and still calls Miami home. Scott, a lawyer and a former hospital company CEO, lived in Texas for more than 20 years and was once a minority owner of the Texas Rangers, after Bush sold his ownership of the team to Tom Hicks.
While Bush is trying to help Republicans running for the Senate and U.S. House, so far he hasn’t participated in any public events for Cruz. During a radio interview in Lubbock with KFYO, host Chad Hasty asked Cruz about Bush campaigning with him.
“I worked for him for many years, and we’ll see if something happens with him or not,” Cruz said.
In 2015, Bush reportedly told an audience at a fundraiser that he was no fan of Cruz.
“I just don’t like the guy,” Bush reportedly said of Cruz.
Cruz responded later saying: “It’s no surprise that President Bush is supporting his brother and attacking the candidates he believes pose a threat to his campaign. I have no intention of reciprocating. I met my wife, Heidi, working on his campaign, and so I will always be grateful to him.”