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Bush team builds data operation with eye on general election

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2015 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks a tailgate party before an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Georgia, in Knoxville, Tenn. Months before primary voters cast the first ballots of the 2016 presidential campaign, Bush and his allies are deep into the work of building a data-driven operation to turn out voters in the general election _ spending heavily on the assumption the former Florida governor will overcome his sluggish start and ultimately win the Republican nomination. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File) FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2015 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks a tailgate party before an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Georgia, in Knoxville, Tenn. Months before primary voters cast the first ballots of the 2016 presidential campaign, Bush and his allies are deep into the work of building a data-driven operation to turn out voters in the general election _ spending heavily on the assumption the former Florida governor will overcome his sluggish start and ultimately win the Republican nomination. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)

By Associated Press October 19, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Jeb Bush and his allies are deep into building a data-driven operation to turn out voters in next year’s general election – months before voters cast the first primary ballots to choose the GOP presidential nominee.

Bush’s campaign and its allied super PAC are spending heavily on the assumption the former Florida governor will overcome his sluggish start and ultimately win the Republican nomination.

It’s a strategy aimed at avoiding a repeat of the GOP’s glaring deficiencies in using technology to get their supporters to vote in 2012, and evidence of both Bush’s confidence and that of his financial backers.

Yet it’s also one that’s already hit an early snag, with Bush and his advisers abandoning plans to link some technology efforts by contracting with a single company.