New York Jets owner will back Bush

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson will back Jeb Bush in 2016, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Johnson, a major Republican fundraiser, attended a Bush fundraiser in Chicago on Wednesday, according to the report. The Chicago Sun Times reported Wednesday that Bush raised more than $4 million at the event.

The decision by Johnson, who supported Mitt Romney early in the 2012 presidential cycle, appears to be a blow to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R).

{mosads}GOP strategists believed that Romney’s early exit from the 2016 field buoyed Christie by making him the second biggest name in the field for establishment-minded Republicans. With Romney out, Christie appeared to have a foothold on fundraising in the Northeast.

But Johnson’s decision to back Bush further cements the narrative that Bush is the preferred candidate for establishment-minded Republicans. Johnson’s Jets play their home games in Christie’s home state of New Jersey. However, Christie is an avowed Dallas Cowboys fan. 

The big field of potential GOP contenders are focused now on winning the support of major donors and top-level political operatives who will staff their future campaigns.

Bush has begun making some public political appearances, but his early efforts appear focused on fundraising.

“I think his focus right now for the next six months to a year is just going to be raising money,” Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), who supports Bush, told The Hill last week. “He’s got to do anything he can to take as much as the finite campaign resources out there, to keep up. He has to [get started early], and I think that paid off in regard to Mitt [Romney’s early exit].”

Political watchers are interested to see how Bush’s fundraising efforts are coming along. His leadership PAC, Right to Rise, will put out its first report in July.



Bloomberg has reported that the Bush team is seeking to raise $100 million in the first three months of 2015, although Bush officials have pushed back on that claim.