Bush boosting Republicans in places where Trump isn’t strong

Published 8:07 am Thursday, September 13, 2018

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  — Former President George W. Bush is quietly helping boost Republican candidates in places where President Donald Trump has struggled. In so doing, the former two-term president is raising his profile, ever so slightly, in the national politics he eschewed for years.

On Wednesday, Bush held an event in Fort Worth, Texas, for Republican Rep. Will Hurd in a congressional district Trump lost in 2016. On Friday, Bush is set to appear in Florida, which Trump narrowly carried in 2016, on behalf of Gov. Rick Scott in the state’s expensive Senate race.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who will also attend the Scott event, said in an email that his brother “is helping Senate candidates across the country.”

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These events are a focal part of Bush’s re-emergence in national politics ahead before the Nov. 6 election that will help determine control of Congress.