Hoping to refocus his campaign in the wake of a much-criticized debate performance, Jeb Bush circled back Monday to where his political career began: Florida.
The former governor spoke at the Tampa Garden Club to tout the release of a new e-book, Reply All, that features a selection of emails from Bush’s time in Florida’s executive office.
“I gave out my email address because I wanted Floridians to know that their governor cared about them and wanted to help solve their problems,” Bush told the crowd, noting that “this eight-year conversation with Florida shaped my governorship.”
The speech in Tampa marked both the launch of the e-book and the beginning of a “Jeb Can Fix It” tour. The Bush campaign is hoping to reset after slipping polls, campaign-staff pay cuts, and a much-criticized debate performance which incited speculation that his presidential run had reached the beginning of the end.
On Monday, Bush returned to Florida to remind voters of his record there as governor. “I turned the political culture of Tallahassee upside down,” Bush told the crowd. “I’m putting the Beltway on notice: I’ll turn Washington upside down, too.
The Bush campaign also released a new campaign video Monday that largely focuses on Bush’s tenure, which ended in 2007. The two-minute spot features Florida officials praising Bush’s work in the state.