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Spotlight: Jeb Bush's troubled candidacy faces biggest test in South Carolina

Xinhua, February 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

Eight months into his campaign, U.S. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush was no longer regarded by donors and supporters as a mighty guardian of conservatism who could promise retake of the White House. Instead, he becomes a liability.

"I hope (Senator Marco) Rubio finishes second. We have to have a nominee, Republican, who can bring the party together and reach out to moderates and independents and not just the far right-wing," said former Republican Senator Bob Dole, who endorsed Bush rather than Rubio in November, in an interview early this week with National Review.

"I'm not seeing a lot of movement there (for Bush). He's got (Senator) Lindsey (Graham from South Carolina) down there helping him, and his brother came in to help him, and he's still about what, 10 percent? (That) is way behind top three," said Dole just days before the South Carolina Republican primary.

After his fourth place showing in the New Hampshire and a distance sixth place in the Iowa caucuses, the Bush team was desperate to prove to donors and supporters that he was still a competitive candidate.

To outpace a weakened Rubio, Bush's main rival in the establishment lane, the Bush campaign brought in George W. Bush on Monday night, expecting the appearance of the former president, who still enjoys a 77 percent favorability rating among South Carolina voters, would convince South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to endorse Bush.

During an interview with NBC on Tuesday, Bush said Haley's endorsement "would be the most powerful, meaningful one in the state."

One day later, Bush again found himself stuck in a painful awkward position: Haley officially endorsed Rubio.

According to a Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday, New York billionaire developer Donald Trump was way ahead in the Republican field in the upcoming South Carolina Republican primary, trailed by Senator Ted Cruz and Rubio. Bush stood at fifth place with eight percent of support.

Quoting one donor of Bush, the U.S. daily Politico reported Friday that Bush's sequence in South Carolina could decide the fate of his troubled candidacy.

"If he finishes significantly behind Rubio in South Carolina, I think a lot of the people who are personally close to him, including donors, are going to say, don't stay in until money runs out, don't stay in just to be a spoiler. We're thinking about legacy now," said the donor according to Politico. Enditem