Brother, Can You Spare Some Dimes?

by Evan Smith

October 1998

Back Talk

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George W. isn’t the only Bush benefiting from the largesse of well-heeled Texans. His brother Jeb Bush, the GOP candidate for governor in Florida, has thus far received more than $382,000 in contributions of $500 or less from Texans. Among the notable donors: financier Perry Bass, oilmen W. A. “Tex” Moncrief and Roy Huffington; CEOs Ken Lay of Enron, Erle Nye of Texas Utilities, Robert Onstead of Randalls, and Robert Dedman of ClubCorp; actor Chuck Norris; hotelier Caroline Hunt; rancher Clayton Williams; and five veterans of George Bush the elder’s White House: Chase Untermeyer, Dick Cheney, Robert Mosbacher, James Baker, and not surprisingly, George Bush. Texans have also given an additional $566,000 to the Florida GOP. Why the sudden surge of interest in Sunshine State politics? “To some extent, this is more about George W. than Jeb,” says William March, a reporter for the Tampa Tribune. “His supporters back home know that if he runs for president, it would help him greatly to have a Republican in the Florida governor’s mansion—especially if it’s his brother.” Maybe that’s why another of Jeb’s contributors is Karl Rove, George W.’s political consultant.

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