--- title: Jeb Bush Labeled Himself 'Hispanic' on a 2009 Voter Form description: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush mischaracterized himself as Hispanic in a voter-registration application in 2009, according to a new report. canonical: https://time.com/3772081/jeb-bush-hispanic/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-06T14:21:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-15T04:36:59.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jeb Bush Once Labeled Himself 'Hispanic' og:description: It's unclear where the mistake was made og:url: https://time.com/3772081/jeb-bush-hispanic/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc79ffb0cb6dcffe/698786cae20a87e068a85eaa/42-69855600.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Former Florida Governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks to supporters at an early morning GOP breakfast event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on March 18, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeb Bush Once Labeled Himself 'Hispanic' twitter:description: It's unclear where the mistake was made twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc79ffb0cb6dcffe/698786cae20a87e068a85eaa/42-69855600.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jeb Bush Once Labeled Himself 'Hispanic' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=93405785-be20-4c57-ae73-f4917f0fce93&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Real TIME: Jeb Bush at CPAC 2015 [Watch (HLS stream): Real TIME: Jeb Bush at CPAC 2015](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Opukemjy.m3u8) (0:59)  _Published 2015-02-27. Jeb Bush addressed his mother's comments, and outlined his views on immigration and the Common Core during his Q&A at CPAC 2015._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Updated: Dec 15, 2023 4:36 AM UTCPublished: Apr 6, 2015 2:21 PM UTC  Former Florida Governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks to supporters at an early morning GOP breakfast event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Mar. 18, 2015. Former Florida Governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks to supporters at an early morning GOP breakfast event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Mar. 18, 2015. Richard Ellis—ZUMA Press/Corbis by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Updated: Dec 15, 2023 4:36 AM UTCPublished: Apr 6, 2015 2:21 PM UTC Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush [mischaracterized himself as Hispanic](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/04/06/jeb-bushs-deep-ties-to-hispanics-show-even-in-voter-form/) in a voter-registration application in 2009, according to a new report. The New York _Times_, citing a voter-registration application obtained from the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, reports that Bush marked Hispanic in the field labeled “race/ethnicity.” Bush’s wife is Mexican-born and he has close ties with Hispanic leaders that have Republicans hoping he could make inroads with the fast-growing demographic in the 2016 presidential race. But he is, of course, the white son of former President George H.W. Bush. “It’s unclear where the paperwork error was made,” said a Bush spokesperson in an email. “The Governor’s family certainly got a good laugh out of it. He is not Hispanic.” Bush referenced his faux pas in jest on Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/JebBush/status/585091719550656512) Bush, a likely presidential candidate, is fluent in Spanish, has lived in Venezuela, and supports immigration reform. Univision has called him a “[Hispanic candidate](http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/03/02/latino-media-tout-jeb-bush-as-a-hispanic-candid/202631).” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Are you mad at your mom because she did say well I don't know if we need another Bush in the White House. What is your reaction to your mom. On the today show when my brother was opening up his presidential library my my mom unleashed on this on national television instead of telling me directly, that was a little difficult. But since that time she's had a change of heart. There is no plan to deport 11 million people. We should give them a path to legal status, where they work, where they don't receive government benefits, where they don't break the law, where they learn English, and where they make a contribution to our society. There's no consequence between mediocrity and failure or excellence, then the system won't move forward. And my belief is our standards have to high enough where a, a student going through our system is college or career ready. 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