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Before official kickoff, Bush faces campaign questions

 
Senator Jack Latvala, R- Clearwater, urges passage of an immigrant tuition bill, Thursday, May 1, 2014 on the floor of the Florida Senate as Senator Joe Negron, R- Staurt, listens, left. Negron did not support the bill.
Senator Jack Latvala, R- Clearwater, urges passage of an immigrant tuition bill, Thursday, May 1, 2014 on the floor of the Florida Senate as Senator Joe Negron, R- Staurt, listens, left. Negron did not support the bill.
Published June 14, 2015

Jeb Bush had a fairly successful trip to Europe last week but had to endure talk of turmoil in his campaign for president, triggered by a reshuffling of staff.

While in Berlin on Wednesday Bush said that he was confident in his team and that polls this early don't matter.

"This is an adjustment based on the skills of people that I got to know during the last three months. . . . It's June, for crying out loud, so we've got a long way to go."

"I just urge everybody to be a little more patient about this," Bush told reporters, eager to get talking about his visit to Germany, Poland and Estonia.

On Monday, Bush's campaign made the surprise announcement that Danny Diaz, a hard-charging operative from Washington, would serve as campaign manager. That job was expected to be filled by David Kochel, who joined the team from Iowa.

Bush said the job ahead is a big one and he decided to split up duties. "David has got great success in these early states, particularly Iowa. He also has got a great strategic mind. And Danny's a grinder."

Bush will officially enter the race on Monday in Miami. The following day he'll appear on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He's also going on Sean Hannity's show. Then he hits the road, visiting early primary states. He's also headed to Tampa to court donors and activists in Hillsborough on June 19 and June 22.

He is scheduled to keynote the Hillsborough Republican Party's Lincoln Day dinner on June 19 at TPepin's Hospitality Centre, and then zip back into town for a luncheon reception three days later.

Democrats' new plan is an obvious one

We're trying to restrain our snark as we write up the highlights of the draft report from the Florida Democratic Party's LEAD (Leadership Expansion to Advance Democrats) Task Force. Led by Sen. Bill Nelson and former Orlando police Chief Val Demings, the committee was created after the party's latest drubbing in November, but the draft report seems like it could have been banged out in an hour.

The recommendations are both sensible and obvious: pay more attention to voters in North and Central Florida; commit staffers to reach out to African-American and Hispanic voters; aggressively promote mail voting; improve candidate recruiting by, among other things, regional recruitment councils; focus on digital media.

You get the idea.

"Working together, we will retool our campaigns and empower Democratic committees, clubs, and caucuses to be even greater advocates for our cause," the report read. "Implementing this agenda will require the persistence and dedication of Florida's Democratic leaders, from grass roots to donors — but I know we are up to the challenge."

Democratic strategist Steve Schale offers his own recommendation: Move the party operation out of Tallahassee — "geographically misplaced and it's an echo chamber that isn't representative of the state" — and to Orlando, "where the state is most dynamic right now. Lay down a marker and start organizing."

Rubio cashes in on bad press

Sen. Marco Rubio turned a New York Times story about his shaky personal finances into campaign cash, raising at least $100,000 for his presidential campaign.

Here's his fundraising pitch:

"According to the Times, 'Rubio entered public life in a deep financial hole of his own making.' Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? But what exactly was this deep financial hole of my own making? My student loans! I didn't have the money for college, so I had to take out loans. And now the Times is attacking me for it.

"As I have said many times, I am not poor, but I'm not rich either. It's true, I didn't make over $11 million last year giving speeches to special interests. And we don't have a family foundation that has raised $2 billion from Wall Street and foreign interests."

Rubio spent last week away from his job in Washington, raising money in California and then attending Mitt Romney's policy retreat in Utah.

State GOP official running for office

The second-highest ranking official in the state Republican Party is hoping to join the top-ranking officer in the Florida Legislature next year.

Sarasota Republican Joe Gruters, the vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, officially has filed to run for a seat in the Florida Legislature in 2016. Gruters, an accountant and former campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, put in papers earlier this month to become a candidate in District 73. That district includes most of Sarasota and Manatee counties east of Interstate 75.

If Gruters wins the seat, he would join RPOF chairman Blaise Ingoglia in the Florida House. Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, was elected in 2014. Earlier this year, state GOP activists voted for him to become the chairman of the state Republican Party.

Adam C. Smith and Jeremy Wallace contributed to this week's Buzz.