The chairman of Iowa’s Republican party said he was “heartened” by a phone conversation he had Wednesday with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — who repeatedly said he was not a candidate, just exploring a presidential bid.
“But there was a resolve in his voice,” Jeff Kaufmann told The Des Moines Register. “What I heard is a man that’s ready to come out and tackle the Hawkeye state.”
The first-in-the-nation caucuses in Iowa are historically decided by the most ardent of grassroots activists, and participants might not be enamored of Mr. Bush’s comparatively moderate positions on issues like education and immigration.
Citing a scheduling conflict, Mr. Bush is not attending GOP Rep. Steve King’s Iowa Freedom Summit on Saturday, which will see a host of potential 2016 GOP contenders make their pitches in the early presidential state.
But Mr. Kaufman said Mr. Bush had an upbeat demeanor and “intricate knowledge” about various spots in the state, also saying he’d like to potentially visit counties along I-80 and I-35 and other areas.
“When I hung up the phone [with Bush], I was very heartened that this guy is going to play in Iowa,” Mr. Kaufmann said. “That tells me that Iowa is going to be a battleground in the fullest sense of the word.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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