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A top supporter of Gov. Jeb Bush is saying the GOP’s 2016 frontrunner, Donald Trump, is “dead politically” and won’t be president of the United States, despite being at the top of the polls. Trump is “a false zombie front-runner. He’s dead politically, he’ll never be president of the United States, ever,” Mike Murphy said in an interview with Bloomberg Politics. “By definition I don’t think you can be a front-runner if you’re totally un-electable. I think there’s there an a-priori logic problem in that,” said Murphy, who is the chief strategist at Bush’s “Right To Rise” Super-PAC that has...

None of this strikes me as true. How has Trump’s entry changed the race?It created a false zombie front-runner. He’s dead politically, he’ll never be president of the United States, ever. By definition I don’t think you can be a front-runner if you’re totally un-electable. I think there’s there an a-priori logic problem in that.Has he been dead since he got in?I think so, yeah. So there’s no meaningful outcome to it. But the question is what kind of catalyst is it? It’s a huge amount of noise and so we’re trying to find the signal in all this. You’ve...

One of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's (R) top allies opened up about the presidential race in a new Bloomberg Politics interview published Tuesday. Mike Murphy, the ally, has been a Bush political adviser since 1994, according to The New York Times. And Murphy — who now runs the massive, $100 million-plus super PAC fueling Bush's candidacy — does not think presidential rival Donald Trump has any shot at the White House despite his lead in all of the polls. "It created a false zombie front-runner. He's dead politically, he'll never be president of the United States, ever. By definition...

Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's presidential bid, is planning an initial round of advertising worth nearly $17 million aimed at eight states that hold their nominating contests in early March, CBS News confirms. Including this new spending blitz, the group has dedicated $56 million to advertising so far. The new round of ads is primarily focused on the so-called S.E.C. primary on March 1, which includes a few states in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), a college athletic conference. Right to Rise plans to spend $2.6 million in Georgia, $1.7 million in Tennessee, $6.1...

In mid-September, Jeb Bush’s SuperPAC, Right to Rise PAC, unleashed $24 million in advertising in key early primary states. Using the RealClearPolitics average as our measuring stick, Bush moved from 4.8 percent in Iowa on September 15 to 6.7 percent today. In New Hampshire, he moved from 7 percent to 8.7 percent, although the NBC News poll had him at 11 percent. South Carolina Republicans have only been polled twice during this time period; he’s at 6 percent in both polls. Nationally, Jeb Bush is about the same – 8 percent on September 15, 7.3 percent today. He’s currently fifth...

Consider this another bad sign for Jeb Bush’s presidential run: Since a mega TV and radio ad buy was launched in New Hampshire his poll numbers have dropped. A detailed report from Politico outlines how Bush is cutting back after living large on the campaign trail and notes how Bush’s fortunes haven’t been boosted by ad campaigns from Bush and the Right to Rise super PAC, where approximately $4.8 million has been spent. According to data an ad-tracking firm produced for Politico, pro-Bush spots have taken up 60 percent of political air time in New Hampshire in the past three...

The $4.8 million TV and radio ad blitz in New Hampshire by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and his associated super Pacs has done little to bump up his polling in the state, which is considered crucial to his campaign. A report by Politico Thursday notes that in the weeks since the ad buy -- which has pro-Bush ads taking up 60 percent of the political airspace in the state -- the former governor's average poll numbers have actually dipped down, from 9 percent to 8.7 percent.

It's not really news anymore when a poll finds former Florida Governor Jeb Bush far below "frontrunner" status. The best-funded of the Republican establishment candidates has struggled for months, and never achieved the sort of advantage that Mitt Romney, John McCain, or George W. Bush did in the years before they became the party's nominee. Still, the new WMUR/CNN poll out of New Hampshire -- which has Jeb Bush tied for 5th place with John Kasich, well in back of Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina, and just behind Ben Carson and Marco Rubio -- suggests that the months of weak...

Last week, Jeb Bush finished on a high note, supporters say, enjoying a post-debate bump that keeps the former governor odds-on favorite for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. As proof, Right to Rise USA – the super PAC supporting the Republican candidate — released a wrap-up of the week featuring images, statistics, and predictions, each highlighting the extent of Bush’s post-debate boost. First, the group produced a YouTube video compilation to recap media coverage praising Bush’s performance following Wednesday’s three-hour marathon GOP debate. Much of the coverage centered on accolades over the way Bush handled the record of his brother...

LAS VEGAS, Nev.—Jeb Bush headed to this early-voting state on Thursday, plugging the positive debate reviews that his campaign is using to tamp unease among donors about sagging poll numbers and surging rivals. The former Florida governor is seeking to solidify his position as the Republican Party establishment’s pick in a presidential primary race so far dominated by political outsiders: Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson. But in a sign of Mr. Bush’s struggle to catch fire with the Republican grass roots, he addressed a half-empty room Thursday afternoon at a community recreation center here.

Jeb supporters try to bash Trump with video showing America is great already – but use footage of Britain and Asia by mistake. Jeb Bush's Super PAC is out with a hard-hitting ad attacking Donald Trump for his negative talk about the 'dark' days America's living in. 'Choose a brighter path,' the ad says, as it pans to a the sun rising over a field. Several scenes later, the ad states that 'America is great' - a reference to Trump's slogan Make America Great Again! - as a workman climbs a ladder. The video clips are not of America, though,...

Jeb Bush’s super PAC Right to Rise used stock video images from England and Asia for its new video, which seeks to contrast the former Florida governor's optimism about America's future with Donald Trump's pessimism about its present. -snip- The only problem: The sun is rising over a field in Cornwall, England — a clip available for between $19 and $79 on Shutterstock. The video also shows a clip of the silhouette of a construction worker with text on the screen that says "America is great" — stock footage that was taken from “a multiple story building in Southeast Asia,”...

Jeb Bush is struggling in Iowa, but his campaign isn't giving up. Showing off the strength of the massive fundraising effort undertaken earlier this year that resulted in over $100 million in funds raised to support the former Florida governor's presidential bid, the campaign spent $5.89 million on Iowa advertising purchases this week, with more ad buys expected to come. "It's a muscular buy for a muscular story," Mike Murphy, the chief strategist for Right to Rise USA, the super PAC supporting Bush that bought the ads, told the Des Moines Register.

Right to Rise USA, a super PAC supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in his bid for the White House, is spending just over $21 million in television advertising for key early-voting states. For ads running from the middle of September through the end of the year in Iowa, the super PAC spent $6 million, according to Right to Rise spokesperson Paul Lindsay. In South Carolina the pro-Bush organization has spent just under $4 million for ads running from September 22 to the close of December. Right to Rise is putting the bulk of its advertising dollars in New Hampshire,...

Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign is trying to trim back its spending as the Republican primary race heats up, according to The New York Times. “We have continued to look at how to make every department more efficient with the goal of being resourced well enough to win primaries and caucuses,” communications director Tim Miller said. Miller said the campaign has tried to run “as lean and efficient an effort as possible with one goal: winning the Republican nomination." Two people briefed on the matter also said some staff members took pay cuts as a part of the belt-tightening.

Remember when Jeb Bush was on top of the polls? Or Scott Walker? Both have now fallen to the point where they are fighting for table scraps, tied for fourth place in New Hampshire. Bush has 7%, while Trump has 35%. A new national poll is no better for Bush, showing Trump with a 30-point lead (40% to 10%) over Bush. And now Bush is apparently having trouble raising money and, incredibly, paying staffers: A prominent Florida donor backing Bush said the former Sunshine State governor and his supporting super PAC are having to work even harder to keep up...

After raising a stunning $120 million, Bush’s fundraising operations are finding it difficult to keep pace. There are signs that Jeb Bush’s fundraising juggernaut is losing some momentum, after banking a stunning $120 million for his campaign and super PAC in the first half of the year. A prominent Florida donor backing Bush said the former Sunshine State governor and his supporting super PAC are having to work even harder to keep up the pace, as hard-money contributions have been harder to come by in recent weeks. “The debate performance scared a few people,” said Brian Ballard, a Tallahassee lobbyist...

In April 1988, the man who will try to sell Jeb Bush to America sat on a panel hosted by Campaigns and Elections magazine to discuss the “Secrets of Great Media.” Mike Murphy and his then-business partner Alex Castellanos were rising stars in the Republican firmament, two young guns who were reimagining the contours of campaign messaging. -snip- “To create media that is great in elections, you have to obviously respect the power of the medium,” Murphy began, peering out from behind a pair of 1980s large-frame eyeglasses. “Television is a very, very powerful thing.” Murphy has mastered messaging across...

Donald Trump on Saturday sought to give Jeb Bush a black eye over a black hand. Trump wailed on the former Florida governor for a Photoshopped picture in a campaign leaflet sent out by a pro-Bush super PAC that shows him with a black left hand, and his body apparently super-imposed on a picture of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “Jeb Bush has a Photoshopped photo for an ad which gives him a black left hand and much different looking body. Jeb just can’t get it right!” the real-estate mogul said of his rival for the 2016 Republican nomination, who he has...

Sad Little !Jeb Plane: Bush Super Pac Attempts To Troll Trump, Gives Former Governor A Black Man’s Hand In Mailer. A Super PAC backing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for president with more than $100 million is officially embarrassing itself. Just one day after the Bush Super PAC Right to Rise USA flew a tiny plane with a banner attached to the end of it over 2016 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s Mobile, Alabama rally, the geniuses backing yet another Bush for president appear to have photoshopped a black man’s hand onto the former Florida governor. -snip- “Moments before Trump was...