--- title: Jeb Bush Says He Won't Win Black Voters With 'Free Stuff' description: An echo of Mitt Romney in 2012 canonical: https://time.com/4049825/jeb-bush-black-voters-free-stuff/ author: Dan Hirschhorn article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-25T12:14:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:13.698Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jeb Bush Says He'll Win Black Voters With 'Hope,' Not 'Free Stuff' og:description: An echo of Mitt Romney in 2012 og:url: https://time.com/4049825/jeb-bush-black-voters-free-stuff/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt889e5761455fba9c/6988656dab6d7723566a65c3/jeb-bush2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Jeb Bush og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeb Bush Says He'll Win Black Voters With 'Hope,' Not 'Free Stuff' twitter:description: An echo of Mitt Romney in 2012 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt889e5761455fba9c/6988656dab6d7723566a65c3/jeb-bush2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jeb Bush Says He'll Win Black Voters With 'Hope,' Not 'Free Stuff' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times 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. ## Video: See Jeb Bush's Political Career Through the Years [Watch (HLS stream): See Jeb Bush's Political Career Through the Years](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3nRIB78f.m3u8) (2:37)  _Published 2015-06-12. From his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 1994 through his decision to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, here are some of the top moments from Jeb Bush's political career._ by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Sep 25, 2015 12:14 PM UTC  Former Florida Governor and republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks to voters at the Heritage Action Presidential Candidate Forum in Greenville, South Carolina, Sept. 18, 2015 Former Florida Governor and republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks to voters at the Heritage Action Presidential Candidate Forum in Greenville, South Carolina, Sept. 18, 2015 Sean Rayford—Getty Images by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Sep 25, 2015 12:14 PM UTC Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush [said late Thursday](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/24/jeb-bush-win-black-voters-with-aspiration-not-free-stuff/) that he can improve on the Republican Party’s poor performance among African-American voters with a positive message, instead of offering “free stuff.” The remarks in South Carolina, first reported by the Washington _Post_, echoed [comments made by Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential campaign](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/mitt-romney-naacp-free-stuff%5Fn%5F1666977.html), and threatened to fuel criticism that Republicans are writing off black voters’ support for Democrats as as little more than payback for entitlement programs. “Our message is one of hope and aspiration,” Bush said when asked by someone in a mostly white audience how he would attract black voters. “It isn’t one of division and get in line and we’ll take care of you with free stuff. Our message is one that is uplifting—that says you can achieve earned success.” Bush, an establishment favorite for the GOP nomination, has struggled at a time that polls show Republican voters prefer a political outsider. ## Transcript The younger Bush brother did not make the governor's chair in Florida. The older Bush brother, George W. Bush, did make it in Texas. This is a mixed night for the Bush family. I know we can do better. It requires a new style of leadership, commitment to service to others, and an ability to bring people together rather than divide I wanna be the governor that leads us there. And in Florida, Jeb Bush, 56 to 44 over Buddy MacKay, the Democratic candidate. My brother said in one of his speeches, my brother said he's gonna deliver Florida. [ LAUGH ] He did say That he said it more than once. Will he deliver it? He also told it was going to be a cold Thanksgiving dinner if I don't help him out, and then we're going to carry it. We could be in for a long night as voters decide whether Vice President Al Gore or Texas Governor George Bush will be the next president of the United States. It is that close. ABC News is now going to project that Florida goes to Mr. Bush. While the closest elections in American history Bush has won it. The rigor of the common core state standards must be the new minimum in classrooms. And so for those states that are choosing a path other than common core I say this. You should be aiming even higher. And be bolder and raise standards and ask more for our students and the system. The simple fact is 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. Knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the invasion? I would of and so would of Hillary Clinton. Just to remind everybody and so would of almost everybody that was confronted with the intelligence they got. By the way guess who thinks that those mistakes took place as well. George W. Bush. Your brother. Yeah. I mean so just for the news flash to the world that they're trying to find places that there's big space between me and my brother, this might not be one of those. I'm running for president in 2016, and the focus is going to be about how we, if I run, how do you create high sustained economic growth where more people have a chance at our success. I don't know if I'd be a good candidate or a bad one. Kinda know how a Republican can win, whether it's me or somebody else. And it has to be much more uplifting, much more positive, much more willing to be practical now in the Washington world. Lose the primary to win the general. 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