Bush Super PAC Goes After Christie, Kasich

A super PAC backing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is going after two other Republican governors: Chris Christie and John Kasich.

Called “Three Governors,” the new ad from Right to Rise compares their handling of natural disasters, jobs, the Affordable Care Act and ISIS.

“Three Republican governors,” a narrator intones. “But which governor won national praise for tough leadership handling nine hurricanes? Which governor made his state No. 1 in job creation? Which governor led the fight to stop Obamacare expansion in his state? And which governor laid out a tough plan to destroy ISIS months before the Paris attacks? Jeb Bush.”

Bush left office in 2007, three years before the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, but the ad cites stories referencing a private meeting in 2013 in which he told Florida state lawmakers to oppose the Medicaid expansion.

He is in direct competition with Christie and Kasich in New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation primary which many in the Republican Establishment hope will help elevate a moderate to compete with frontrunner Donald Trump.

The ad is the first significant time that Right to Rise has gone after the other two candidates. It comes as the super PAC also unleashed an ad criticizing Sen. Marco Rubio over his Senate attendance record.

A Kasich spokesman called the ad “flattering.”

“They forgot to check the box for ‘Which governor is living in the past because he has no ideas for fixing it?’” said spokesman Rob Nichols. “You only attack who you fear and who’s beating you, so it only reaffirms the governor’s strength in New Hampshire. It’s actually flattering.”

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