--- title: Jeb Bush to Donors: 'I'm Sorry' description: Bush acknowledged some of the failures of his presidential campaign, but did not endorse another candidate canonical: https://time.com/4236513/jeb-bush-apologizes-sorry/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-24T22:43:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:58.497Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jeb Bush to Donors: 'I'm Sorry' og:description: Bush acknowledged some of the failures of his presidential campaign. og:url: https://time.com/4236513/jeb-bush-apologizes-sorry/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ea8125924bd05b6/69887e703c16397bea45c1ce/jeb-bush2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3986 og:image:height: 2242 og:image:alt: CNN Hosts South Carolina Republican Presidential Town Hall og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeb Bush to Donors: 'I'm Sorry' twitter:description: Bush acknowledged some of the failures of his presidential campaign. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ea8125924bd05b6/69887e703c16397bea45c1ce/jeb-bush2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jeb Bush to Donors: 'I'm Sorry' > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### 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: Watch Jeb Bush's Saddest Campaign Moments [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Jeb Bush's Saddest Campaign Moments](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xTuQ6C6q.m3u8) (2:36)  _Published 2016-02-19. At one time the Republican front-runner, Bush led the race for the nomination until the late summer emergence of billionaire Donald Trump as a contender._ by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Feb 24, 2016 10:43 PM UTC  Jeb Bush during a town-hall event in Columbia, S.C., on Feb. 18, 2016 Jeb Bush during a town-hall event in Columbia, S.C., on Feb. 18, 2016 Daniel Acker—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Feb 24, 2016 10:43 PM UTC Jeb Bush [apologized to top donors Wednesday](http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/270646-bush-apologizes-to-donors), acknowledging the failures of his [now suspended presidential campaign](http://time.com/4231664/jeb-bush-drops-out-president/). The former Florida governor joined members of his national finance team in a conference call, according to the _Hill_. “I’m sorry that it didn’t turn out the way I intended when I launched the campaign,” Bush said. At one time, Bush’s war chest of campaign donations was over $100 million. He admitted that running as a “reform-minded conservative” wasn’t enough to secure the Republican nomination in 2016\. Much of Bush’s campaign was overshadowed by the rise of billionaire Donald Trump, [who has energized the GOP base with his firebrand rhetoric](http://time.com/4197761/apprentice-voters/). “The reality is we’ve had a year of disruption, a year of outsiders making a compelling case to people who are deeply disaffected and angry,” Bush said. “I just didn’t get the breakthrough I needed in early states and felt it was important to not move on without a clear path to winning.” Bush talked highly of his campaign experience, but still took an opportunity to knock at the press. He said he was happy to be off of the trail and that he would enjoy spending time with his wife Columba back home in Miami, the _Hill_ reports. “I was amazed at the press coverage of the campaign and lack of reality to how I felt the campaign was,” Bush said. “To me, it was an incredible joy and incredible honor and privilege to be a candidate for president.” Who his large donor base will throw their support behind in the race [has been a question since he dropped out](http://time.com/4234433/marco-rubio-jeb-bush-donors/) after a defeat in the South Carolina primary. 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