Jeb Bush Bets on Peaking Late

During a closed-door presentation for donors last month, Bush strategist Mike Murphy “dismissed buzz-fueled candidates who rise fast early only to flame out once the primaries begin. Murphy ridiculed the early spate of presidential polls — many of which show Bush lagging, particularly in Iowa — as ‘noise meters.’ And he insisted that the Bush team is patiently playing a long game, one that will not be upended by the actions of his rivals,” the Washington Post reports.

“Murphy’s talk was aimed in part at quieting pockets of anxiety that have been percolating among Bush supporters who are beginning to worry whether he can excite Republicans in the same way that many of his younger rivals are already doing.”