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Bush joins unwieldy race as new phase of GOP campaign begins

FILE - In this May 28, 2015 file photo, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks in Lansing, Mich. Bush steps into the Republican race for president, cementing his place at the head of an unwieldy GOP field. Bush has the name of a front-runner and donors to match. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
FILE - In this May 28, 2015 file photo, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks in Lansing, Mich. Bush steps into the Republican race for president, cementing his place at the head of an unwieldy GOP field. Bush has the name of a front-runner and donors to match. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File) FILE - In this May 28, 2015 file photo, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks in Lansing, Mich. Bush steps into the Republican race for president, cementing his place at the head of an unwieldy GOP field. Bush has the name of a front-runner and donors to match. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Jeb Bush stepped into the Republican race for president on Thursday, finally taking his place – after months of hints and relentless fundraising – amid an unwieldy field of GOP candidates unlike any in recent memory.

The son of one president and brother of another, the former Florida governor has the rank of front-runner and the donors to match. He now has eight months before the first votes are cast in the Iowa caucuses to prove he’s worthy of both.

“It’s as wide-open a race as we’ve seen in a long time,” said Republican strategist Kevin Madden, who described Bush as the “technical front-runner” in a field that stands at 11 major declared candidates.

Among them: former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who returned Thursday to presidential politics four years after his 2012 presidential bid ended in disaster, vowing during his own campaign kickoff to “end an era of failed leadership.”

While both men were widely expected to enter the race, which got its unofficial start when Bush said in December he was exploring whether to seek the Republican nomination, the confirmation from aides that Bush will indeed run is nonetheless a defining moment for the GOP.