Potential Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush arrived in the Bay Area on Wednesday, perhaps hoping the region might be as much of a fulcrum to political success as was Florida, where he was a two-term governor.
It might be short on alligators and humidity, but the region packs much more money per square mile. Bush came to keynote fundraising luncheons for his Right to Rise super PAC on Wednesday in East Palo Alto and Thursday in San Francisco, hosted and attended by some local investment icons.
But Bush could have to beat the bushes for money — and certainly for votes — in a region that doesn’t see eye-to-eye with most Republicans on issues like net neutrality, government surveillance, immigration and gay rights.
“He will be seen as more tech-savvy and tech-friendly than other mainstream Republicans but not nearly as much as Rand Paul, who is developing a strong set of connections by appealing appeal to the more libertarian side of Silicon Valley,” said Corey Cook, director of the University of San Francisco’s Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good.
Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky, seems poised “to run an insurgent sort of campaign — he speaks the language of disruption in a way that’s very different from someone like Bush,” Cook said, adding that holds great appeal for younger, tech-oriented contributors and voters. “Bush is coming to raise money, and he’ll appeal to the normal establishment Republicans who are here but nobody else.”
Bush hasn’t declared candidacy yet; like many could-be contenders, he knows federal rules let him raise far more money through his super PAC than he can through a campaign committee. So he raised money for his super PAC on Monday in San Diego and Newport Beach, and on Tuesday in Bel Air before coming to the Bay Area.
Hosts of Bush’s luncheon at East Palo Alto’s Four Seasons Hotel on Wednesday included San Francisco billionaire investor Bill Oberndorf, a staunch supporter of education privatization, and venture capitalist Bill Draper, former president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States — an agency many Republicans hope to let die when its congressional authorization expires June 30. Oberndorf also will co-host a fundraiser Thursday at San Francisco’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel, along with venture capitalist Jay Kern.
Draper said Wednesday he’s a “longtime friend of the Bushes” who was a fundraising chair for George H.W. Bush’s 1980 GOP primary battle against Ronald Reagan: “I’ve known Jeb since he was a young man… and he’s the kind of guy we would want as a leader.”
He said he was “blown away” Wednesday as Bush handled policy questions “with nuance and clarity and coolness.” Bush’s call for immigration reform — especially regarding skilled foreign workers — sets him apart from the rest of the Republican pack and is red meat for Silicon Valley, he added.
“Every other startup in Silicon Valley has included at least one immigrant, and the number of jobs created … has way outnumbered the number of jobs immigrants have taken away from Americans,” Draper said.
But California Republican Party vice chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon of San Francisco said it’s not surprising that most Silicon Valley tech donors “are keeping their powder” given how early it is and how many “excellent potential candidates” there are “including one of their own, Carly Fiorina.”
Bush, Paul and Chris Christie all have spent time here meeting key donors and influencers, she said. “Jeb Bush is well-liked and respected by many old-money, establishment conservatives, and will need to spend time here cultivating the tech community if he is to have a chance at keeping pace here with his big fundraising advantage outside California.”
California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton said Bush draws support from Silicon Valley Republicans because he “supports the Republican policy to cut taxes for the rich and screw the working-class people, and they think he can win.”
But Burton said Bush walks a tightrope in wooing conservatives now — with stances like his support of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who recently signed a controversial law that may allow businesses to reject gay customers on religious grounds — and appealing to moderates later. Dozens of tech executives including the CEOs of eBay, SalesForce, Twitter, Yelp, AirBnB, Zynga, Lyft and Sidecar signed a statement Wednesday urging non-discrimination protections for LGBT people in Indiana and other states adopting similar laws.
As Pence’s own possible political ambitions founder on the shoals of what’s widely seen as discrimination, other Republicans like Bush “can’t have it both ways,” Burton said. “They move to the right to get nominated, and then they’re trapped and can’t move back to the center.”
California Democrats already are using Bush’s stance on Indiana’s law as a rallying cry. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom emailed supporters of his 2018 gubernatorial campaign Wednesday citing Bush’s visit and urging people to sign a petition.
“California has always led on issues of civil rights and liberties, especially on marriage equality,” Newsom wrote. “But as we’ve seen in Indiana over this past week, we must continue to be vigilant and fight — every day — to stop discrimination in any place, in any form. This fight is not over. And Jeb Bush needs to hear from us.”
Josh Richman covers politics. Follow him at Twitter.com/Josh_Richman. Read the Political Blotter at IBAbuzz.com/politics.
