With the exit of Jeb Bush from the 2016 presidential race, pundits and political prognosticators are asking the question Bush family matriarch, Barbara Bush, hinted at a few years ago when she opined the electorate “had enough” Bushes.

1. Is the Bush Dynasty Done?
With the exit of Jeb Bush from the 2016 presidential race, pundits and political prognosticators
are asking the question Bush family matriarch, Barbara Bush, hinted at a few years ago when she
opined the electorate “had enough” Bushes.
Leading into his ill-fated South Carolina primary, Jeb Bush was defiant, telling his supporters,
“I’m still standing!” While appropriate to the circumstances, that message sure wasn’t the one
Bush’s backers expected to hear when they filled his war chest to overflowing for what they
expected to be a relatively easy path to the presidency.
It may be difficult to remember, but a year ago – really, six months ago – this was Jeb’s race to
lose. He was the one with the Name and the MONEY. The guy with the connections who the
media seemed ready to anoint. Then Trump and Cruz exploded out of the gate, one taking Iowa,
the second getting New Hampshire. Jeb’s race to lose? Yes … and he managed a spectacular job
of doing just that. South Carolina was the final nail in the coffin of this campaign.
The problems started early. In campaign stops and early debates, Jeb seemed listless, apathetic.
No fire in his belly. Trump called him “low energy” and the criticism stuck. Then the typically
dignified candidate with the bluest of political blue blood got into a couple of ill-advised verbal
scraps with the boisterous New Yorker, getting the worst of the exchanges every time.
Growing increasingly desperate to shore up his name and his failing chances, Jeb did what he
had previously said he would not do – he brought his family out to campaign for him. George W.
Bush is still popular among many Republicans, especially in South Carolina, so pundits thought
– as obviously desperate as it was – it might give him some steam going into the primary. He
really didn’t even need to win. He just needed to finish in the top three. To beat Rubio and
Kasich while holding his own against Cruz and Trump.

2. So Bush campaigned hard and heavy in the Palmetto State. In the days running up to the
primary, Bush’s strategists handicapped his odds. He needed third they said, before intimating
they would be happy with a “strong fourth.”
Strong fourth! In a state Jeb campaigned in harder than any other? The state that loved – and still
loved his father and brother? Well, turns out even that was too optimistic. Jeb got pummeled.
Trump won handily, and Rubio squeaked past Cruz for the number two spot. Bush did finish
fourth but at about one-third the second and third place winner’s totals. Trump took more than
four times the vote Jeb managed.
Blame whoever you want – an odd cycle, an angry electorate, the primacy of outliers – doesn’t
matter. It appears the astute Mother Bush was closer to the truth. Folks are tired of Bushes, very
tired at the moment, and potentially going forward.
More than anything else, Bush’s extremely poor showing in this election begs the question: is
this loss the end a political race, or of a political dynasty?
Jonah Engler is a financial expert from NYC.