--- title: Jeb Bush and Rand Paul's Family a Debate Topic in Iowa description: Former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Rand Paul both defended their political family members during the Republican debate in Iowa on Thursday canonical: https://time.com/4199263/jeb-bush-rand-paul-republican-debate-family/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-29T03:01:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:33:30.245Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jeb Bush and Rand Paul Get the 'What About Dad?' Question og:description: Family matters came up at the GOP debate og:url: https://time.com/4199263/jeb-bush-rand-paul-republican-debate-family/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0cc93f910b8e9c50/69887b29a988ca31456b6589/republican-presidential-debate-gop-jan-28-photos-11.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential Candidates Debate In Iowa Days Before State's Caucus og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeb Bush and Rand Paul Get the 'What About Dad?' Question twitter:description: Family matters came up at the GOP debate twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0cc93f910b8e9c50/69887b29a988ca31456b6589/republican-presidential-debate-gop-jan-28-photos-11.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jeb Bush and Rand Paul Quizzed About Their Dads at GOP Debate  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 29, 2016 3:01 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush at the Republican presidential debate Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush at the Republican presidential debate Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa.Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 29, 2016 3:01 AM UTC Former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Rand Paul each defended their status as scions of political dynasties during the [Republican presidential debate in Iowa on Thursday](http://time.com/4197580/republican-debate-donald-trump-iowa/?xid=homepage). While many of the candidates have sought to dissociate from the [GOP establishment](http://time.com/4190037/donald-trump-ted-cruz-establishment-sides/), Bush embraced the association, arguing that he’s best qualified to solve problems while defending conservative principles — like those he said his family has long defended. “Look, I’m an establishment because my Dad, the greatest man alive, was president of the United States, and my brother, who I adore as well, is a fantastic brother, was president — fine, I’ll take it,” Bush said. “And I guess I’m part of the establishment because Barbara Bush is my mom. I’ll take that too. But this election is not about our pedigree. It’s about people who are really hurting, and we need a leader who will fix things and have a proven record to do it.” Fox News moderator Bret Baier asked Paul about his [affiliation with his father](http://time.com/3772936/ron-paul-rand-paul-quiz/), former presidential candidate and avowed libertarian Ron Paul. “Did you make a mistake by not more fully embracing your father politically at the beginning of the campaign?” Baier said, after noting that the Kentucky senator is “definitely not in the establishment category.” “There’s probably no person I respect more in the country or in recent history than my father,” Paul said. “I think he was probably the most honest man in politics that we’ve ever seen in a generation, and so in no way have I ever said that I don’t embrace my father or love my father or appreciate everything that he’s done for the country.” Paul said he expects to do well in Iowa with the backing of his father. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4199263/jeb-bush-rand-paul-republican-debate-family/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4199263/jeb-bush-rand-paul-republican-debate-family/"},"headline":"Jeb Bush and Rand Paul Quizzed About Their Dads at GOP Debate","datePublished":"2016-01-29T03:01:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:33:30.245Z","description":"\"I guess I’m part of the establishment because Barbara Bush is my mom\"","url":"https://time.com/4199263/jeb-bush-rand-paul-republican-debate-family/","keywords":["debate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0cc93f910b8e9c50/69887b29a988ca31456b6589/republican-presidential-debate-gop-jan-28-photos-11.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0cc93f910b8e9c50/69887b29a988ca31456b6589/republican-presidential-debate-gop-jan-28-photos-11.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican Presidential Candidates Debate In Iowa Days Before State's Caucus","caption":"Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush at the Republican presidential debate Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa.","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/debate/","name":"debate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4199263/jeb-bush-rand-paul-republican-debate-family/","name":"Jeb Bush and Rand Paul Quizzed About Their Dads at GOP Debate"}}]}] ```