After his fourth town hall on a busy campaign day, Jeb Bush got some good news.
Beverly Bruce, a highly coveted endorsement in New Hampshire, came up to the Republican presidential candidate Saturday night, gave him a big hug, and whispered something in his ear.
Bush then jutted his arm into the air and yelled, “Yeah!”
“Beverly Bruce just said she was going to support me after the holidays,” he told his videographer as other reporters and cameras were present. “That made a long day even better.”
It’s a huge get for the former Florida governor, who’s banking on a comeback win in New Hampshire and plans to campaign heavily there until the February 9 primary. A Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald poll released Friday showed Bush in fifth place at 10% among likely Republican voters.
Bruce was Mitt Romney’s state finance chair in 2012 and remains close friends with the Romneys, and has a well connected network of activists and donors.
She hosted Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham at house parties in Tuftonboro. She also attended the New Hampshire primary ballot filing with Bush and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
Some expected Bruce not to endorse before the New Hampshire primary after the letdown of Romney’s general election loss.
Bruce declined to speak with reporters about her decision Saturday night.
