Mac Stipanovich Describes Jeb Bush’s 1994 Gubernatorial Campaign in Article that Draws Parallels to Presidential Campaign

John McKager “Mac” Stipanovich, who ran Jeb Bush’s campaign for governor of Florida in 1994, was recently quoted in a New York Times article that drew parallels between the 1994 campaign and Bush’s current presidential campaign. Stipanovich described Bush as “very smart” and “very oriented to policy” although not a good public speaker.

“He was confident enough of his intellect and his positions on policy issues, but sometimes his filter wouldn’t function properly,” explains Stipanovich. “He didn’t think about how something would sound, because he knew what he wanted to say.”

Bush’s first run for governor was unsuccessful in a year when Republicans won all but two high-profile statewide elections in the nation.

“It was a Republican year: Contract With America, Newt Gingrich. Nobody who was anybody lost that year except Jeb and Arianna Huffington’s husband [Michael Huffington, who ran for U.S. Senate] in California,” says Stipanovich. “It was definitely a learning experience.”

Read the full article – “Lessons, and Parallels, in Jeb Bush’s Failed Run for Governor” (The New York Times, January 11, 2016)