FiveThirtyEight: “But money is unlikely to be Bush’s problem in this campaign, and cash may be a less valuable resource than another sort of currency in which he is lacking: the support of influential Republicans, like current senators and governors, especially those who publicly endorse a candidate. Historically, these endorsements have been the best proxy for support in the ‘invisible primary’ and a leading indicator for which candidates may emerge victorious through the rough-and-tumble nomination race.”

“So far, Bush has won very few endorsements. No current Republican senators or governors have endorsed him, and only five members of the House of Representatives have done so, all from his home state of Florida.”

“I don’t think you need to spend $1 billion to be elected president of the United States in 2016. I don’t think it’s necessary if you run the right kind of campaign, you don’t need to have these massive amounts of money to spend.”

— Jeb Bush, quoted by Bloomberg.

Jeb Bush “told about 350 of the top donors to his super PAC on Sunday evening that the organization has raised more money in its first 100 days than any other Republican operation in modern history,” the Washington Post reports.

“Bush did not say how much had been raised, but senior Republicans said they think his super PAC, Right to Rise, is on track to collect $100 million by the end of May. Those who heard Bush speak said it signals that he and his team are confident that they’ve amassed a sizable political fortune that will help bankroll his fledgling presidential aspirations.”

New York Times: “As he prepares to challenge an almost universally younger and svelter field of Republican rivals, Mr. Bush has adopted a drastic weight-loss program that is melting away pounds at a staggering rate even as it inflicts an unhappy toll: regular bouts of dietary crankiness.”

“The monthslong experiment in deprivation — little to no starch, dairy or refined sugar, in adherence to the in-vogue Paleo diet — may seem extreme. But unlike a mountain-biking brother, and his still-trim nonagenarian father, Mr. Bush has long struggled to keep the pounds away, trying everything from climbing 22 flights of stairs a day to joining the low-carb Atkins craze of the early 2000s.”

Jeb Bush “is preparing to embark on an experiment in presidential politics: delegating many of the nuts-and-bolts tasks of seeking the White House to a separate political organization that can raise unlimited amounts of campaign cash,” the AP reports.

“Should Bush move ahead as his team intends, it is possible that for the first time a super PAC created to support a single candidate would spend more than the candidate’s campaign itself — at least through the primaries. Some of Bush’s donors believe that to be more than likely.”

National Journal reports GOP strategist Mike Murphy will forgo a top position with the campaign to run Bush’s super PAC instead.

“You can win a primary in a deeply disaffected country by scraping the bark off of anyone who gets in your way, but that’s not the way to get to the main event and get a chance of winning there”.

— Jeb Bush, quoted by the Washington Post.