Gov. Bobby Jindal welcomed Jeb Bush’s tentative step toward a 2016 presidential run during a visit to West Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday, but The Des Moines Register reports Jindal warned Republicans against ceding the nomination to any candidate before voters have a chance to weigh in.
Jindal is among more than a dozen Republicans who have said they’re thinking about vying for the GOP nomination in 2016. He has said he’ll make an announcement early next year. Bush, a former governor of Florida, took the firmest step yet of any potential candidate on Tuesday by announcing he would “actively explore” a run—a move widely read as an attempt to box out rivals and clinch support from the party establishment.
Asked about the Bush announcement ahead of a speech Tuesday to Polk County Republicans, Jindal was complimentary of Bush but argued against allowing too much influence from “some super-smart committee getting together behind closed doors.”
“I’m absolutely opposed to this idea of party insiders, the party establishment, donors or anybody other than voters picking our candidates, picking our nominees for us, picking our leaders for us,” Jindal told reporters.
Jindal made clear that Bush’s early foray into the race wouldn’t dissuade him and shouldn’t dissuade anyone else.
“I think it should be an open contest where the voters get to decide who they want to lead them,” he said. “When I say I don’t want the establishment picking our leaders, what I’m talking about is that some folks have suggested you don’t want a lot of candidates fighting each other or debating each other because it may be messy. Well, you know what? Democracy’s messy.”
Jindal has made several trips to Iowa, which is home to the nation’s first caucus, in recent months. In a 37-minute speech to about 150 Republicans on Tuesday night, Jindal told several long stories about his family clearly aimed at introducing himself to the activists who could propel his candidacy should he decide to run. He will be back in Iowa early next year for a pair of closed-door meetings with Iowa religious leaders in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines on Jan. 6. Read the full story.
