Bushes Struggle to Pull Jeb's Campaign Off Ropes

Jeb Bush appeared destined to waltz to the 2016 Republican nomination, but his presidential bid has been upended to the point that even his cherished family pedigree might not be enough to salvage his flagging campaign.

Trailing badly in the polls, reportedly slashing campaign payroll by 40 percent and scaling back on travel costs, Bush is now one of many middle-of-the-pack candidates in a wide GOP field, rather than the man Republicans would naturally gravitate to as they seek to win back the White House.

The former Florida governor drew big money early in the race, and an independent political group backing his campaign raised astronomical funds too. 

But Bush has been dunked by a dramatic populist wave that has seen bombastic billionaire Donald Trump surge to the top of the polls.

"He's been Trumped, as they all have," Tim Malloy of Quinnipiac University, whose recent poll in early voting Iowa showed Bush with just five percent support, told AFP.

In an effort to lift Bush's campaign off life support, three generations of his famous family rallied around Jeb, gathering in Houston, Texas for a two-day closed-door reunion aimed at reassuring donors that a third Bush presidency remained more than a fleeting possibility.

Former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, Jeb's father and brother, were on hand to press the flesh with deep-pocketed backers, as the 2016 candidate sought to strike a motivational tone for the contest that lay ahead.

Over breakfast with donors Monday, the 62-year-old laid out his "broad, big and bold optimistic message," according to one donation bundler -- whose role is to organize and collect campaign contributions -- attending the event.

Back in mid-July Bush was leading the pack, with nearly double Trump's support. 

Today the fortunes are reversed, with Trump more than tripling Bush's poll numbers, which stand at barely seven percent, according to the RealClearPolitics average. He trails well behind retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who like Trump has never held public office, and also lags Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Ted Cruz.

"Here was, to the minds of most, the most serious frontrunner the Republicans have, and he's been knocked down to reducing staff and fighting for his life," said Malloy.

- Voter 'fling' with Trump - 

Even supporters are conceding that the contours of this presidential primary are "much different than anything anyone could have forecasted," a Bush donation bundler told AFP.

Republican campaigns, including Bush's, are recalibrating as a result.

His supporters hope the Trump wave crests sooner rather than later to allow their man to position himself as the candidate best qualified to challenge likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

"After having a fling with Trump and dating Carson, I think eventually these primary voters, I think they'll find their way to governor Bush, because they'll learn he's a serious, accomplished candidate with a legitimate record of governing," the donor said.

But with three months to go before the first state-wide votes in the nominations race, Bush remains in an unenviable spot.

Meanwhile Trump is hitting out hard. He ridiculed Bush on his home turf at the weekend, mocking his rival for "meeting today with mommy and daddy" at the Houston gathering.

"He's a guy who wants to run our country and he can't even run his own campaign," Trump said.

Bush on Saturday telegraphed his exasperation with the state of the race.

"I've got a lot of really cool things I could do other than sit around, being miserable, listening to people demonize me and me feeling compelled to demonize them," he fumed to attendees at a forum in South Carolina.

"That is a joke," he added. "Elect Trump if you want that."