Jeb Bush Jr. Hopes His Dad Runs for President

Jeb Bush Jr., son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said in a CNN interview that he hopes his father runs for president.

The elder Bush decided to not mount a campaign in 2012 because he felt it was too late to enter the race. But he  has remained quiet about 2016 as he increasingly weighs in on national issues and the state of the Republican Party.

“I don’t know, no comment, I certainly hope so,” Bush Jr. said.

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He said the GOP may need to work on its outreach, especially to the Hispanic community, but that the success of his uncle, former President George W. Bush, and his own father has shown that Republicans do have appeal there.

"We really have to work on our ground game, have to work on our messaging," said Bush, Jr., whose mother was born and raised in Mexico.

"[President Bush] showed that you can be successful with Hispanics and be Republican... He showed up in Hispanic communities. He spoke a little Spanish. I think that candidness really came across well. (Sen. John) McCain and Gov. Romney didn't do a good job, but I think in 2016 we'll hopefully have a candidate that certainly focuses on that."

A PPP poll found Bush in the middle of the pack, with 11 percent, among potential 2016 GOP candidates. He comes  in three points behind leader Mike Huckabee, who was favored by 16 percent of voters, and a point behind Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan and Chris Christie, each of whom attracted 11 percent of those participating in the poll.

In early September, eight weeks before election day, Bush was two points behind Rubio when asked who Republican voters would prefer their candidate to be if Mitt Romney did not win the presidency.

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