Jeb Bush may have more than $100 million behind him, but he’s not done with fundraising this summer.
The former Florida governor’s campaign is scheduled to hold 23 fundraisers between Tuesday and mid-September to raise money for his presidential bid, according to a schedule of fundraisers obtained by CNN. Bush will appear in places like Lake Tahoe, the Hamptons, Orange County, Austin, Texas and Nantucket over the next two months, according to his calendar.
Bush spent most of 2015 fundraising for a super PAC that raised more than $100 million to independently boost his campaign. But by delaying his official start to do so, Bush enters the summer without as many “hard dollars” for his campaign that he can directly use for his travel, paid media and staffing.
Bush’s campaign last week announced it had raised $11.4 million over the first two weeks of his campaign, collecting checks at a quick enough clip — $710,000 dollars a day — to put him within striking distance of candidates who had been raising money for a few months longer.
Now, Bush will aggressively look to jump a step ahead of them.
The new fundraising push, called “8 by Eight,” asks Bush bundlers to encourage eight of their friends or associates to donate that maximum contribution they can give under election law, $2,700, over the month of July. Bundlers who successfully complete the challenge are invited to some special events in Cleveland during the first GOP debate and to a dinner with the candidate in Coral Gables on July 29.
Bush heads to California tomorrow for a six finance events over three days, and then next week does one event in Tallahassee, one in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, two in New Jersey and then two in the ritzy Hamptons on Long Island. Bush’s wife Columba, who is known for being reserved and shunning the spotlight, is headlining one fundraising event next week in Washington, D.C.
In August, Bush returns to California before raising money in Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and the vacation island of Nantucket. The September schedule appears less detailed: He is only currently expected to appear at receptions in the middle of the month in Seattle and Portland.
