Charlie Crist, Florida’s Republican governor, has been all over the news lately as a result of his endorsement of Sen. John McCain. But his popular predecessor, Jeb Bush, has been incognito. What gives? “I have friends and supporters working in all of the campaigns,” Jeb wrote in an e-mail response to questions from NEWSWEEK. “I told them all I would stay out of the race. I am proud of their efforts and those of their candidates, all of whom are fine men.” One of Jeb’s top fundraisers, Mark Guzzetta, who’s now national finance chairman for former Gov. Mitt Romney, says he had breakfast with Jeb last week. “The current political stuff was not on the forefront” of his concerns, says Guzzetta.
Like Guzzetta, numerous other Jeb advisers and fundraisers migrated to Romney’s campaign early on. Among them: former chief of staff Sally Bradshaw, former Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, former state GOP chairman Al Cardenas and former state House speaker Allan Bense. “It gave sort of an implied blessing” to Romney, says one Tallahassee-based Republican strategist. Both Bradshaw and Guzzetta say they joined the Romney camp with Jeb’s approval. Yet Jeb hasn’t publicly said anything that could be interpreted as an endorsement of the former Massachusetts governor. Nor, it seems, is he doing much behind the scenes to help sway the Sunshine State’s primary. He did, however, chime in after Crist’s endorsement of McCain, in a way that some interpreted as a subtle rebuke to Crist. “I respect the governor’s decision, but Republican voters will determine who they want among very fine candidates,” he wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press.
