Former Texas senator picks Jeb over Cruz for 2016

Former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) is endorsing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) for president over her fellow Texan Sen. Ted Cruz (R).

“I have met with him and I think he is exactly what we need right now that will take us in the right direction,” she said Wednesday about Bush on MSNBC’s “Now with Alex Wagner.”

{mosads}“I think he will have a vision and I think he will implement the vision because he’s been a governor, he’s run things. He knows business, and I think he will help our economy.”

Hutchison said that Bush is “not a Texan,” despite being born in Texas and earning a graduate degree from the University of Texas. Bush’s family is a Texas political dynasty, thanks to Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush. The latter also served as the state’s governor, and Jeb’s son, George P.  Bush, is the state’s land commissioner.

But even though she doesn’t view him as a Texan, the former senator praised Bush for his work as Florida governor and as the right choice in the 2016 presidential race. She called him the “trusted father type that you want to run our country.” 

“Well I think he has a way about him that is going to give people confidence and I think people are going to trust him,” she said.

“He will have creative ideas to get to the things that we need, which are low unemployment and more people working in good jobs and families being able to support the children.”

Hutchison’s endorsement isn’t a surprise after news outlets reported earlier this week that she is slated to attend a Bush fundraiser in Dallas this week. But the declaration snubs Cruz, who replaced Hutchison when she retired from the Senate in 2012.

Cruz became the first to officially announce a bid for president earlier this week. While Bush is widely expected to run, he is still publicly weighing his options.