KOCHULARITY CONTEST: Jeb Will Audition For Big Endorsement

04.21.2015 | Surge Wire |

Likely presidential candidate Jeb Bush will get a chance to vie for the key endorsement of Charles and David Koch in the Republican primary race.

Bush will join declared candidates Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz at the Kochs’ summer conference, in a de-facto audition, a top Koch aide told Politico. Bush is being considered because a lot of Koch supporters think he can win.

The New York Times prompted a bit of a media frenzy Monday by reporting the Koch’s had chosen Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as their candidate. But the aide told Politico they haven’t yet made a final decision.

The Kochs are looking for someone “solid on economic-freedom issues,” who has an optimistic message and who will advocate for free markets, the aide said.

“It’s really early, and a lot is going to happen,” the aide said. “We wouldn’t want to take options off the table by getting behind one of them now.”

This is the first time the Kochs are getting involved in the primary, rather than waiting for the general election.

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