Jeb Bush Sees Romney Needing ‘Broader’ Immigration Ideas
Republican Mitt Romney will need a “broader” message on immigration to appeal to Hispanic voters who have turned toward Democrats in presidential and other elections, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said today.
“He needs to broaden the message out when talking about immigration, to make it an economic issue as much as it is a question of the rule of law,” Bush said at a breakfast with Bloomberg View in New York. “Have a broader message and have a more intense message.”
The Republican Party’s primary elections, in which the candidates’ debate about immigration centered on tougher border control rather than finding a way to accommodate millions of undocumented immigrants already in the U.S., has left the party with a challenge ahead of November’s elections, Bush said.
“There is work to do,” said Bush, asked about the party’s overall standing with Hispanic voters — who supported President Barack Obama in 2008 over Republican John McCain by 67 percent to 31 percent. “I’d say that, if an objective teacher was grading where we are right now, I’d say ‘needs improvement’ — hopefully not an unfinished grade.”