After former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s recent announcement that he is “actively exploring” the possibility of running for president, political pundits have been talking about the possibility of another Bush-Clinton election.
But you might not be able to recycle your 1992 T-shirts after all.
A new Rasmussen poll suggests that Americans are growing wary of political dynasties.
Rasmussen found that just 33 percent of self-identified Republicans say Bush should run for president in 2016. Thirty-four percent said he should not, with 33 percent unsure.
Forty-nine percent of respondents said that Bush’s having both a father and a brother who served as president made them less likely to vote for him. Only 13 percent said that they were more likely to vote for him given his family history.
According to the poll, 64 percent of likely voters said Republicans should find “a fresh face” (defined as one who has not previously sought the office) to be their presidential candidate. Only 10 percent of respondents think the GOP should choose a candidate who has run before, and 25 percent are unsure.
The Washington Times reports that the poll found that 60 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of independents desire a “fresh” GOP candidate in 2016.
The most recent GOP nominee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, ranked higher than Jeb Bush, with 42 percent of Republicans saying he should seek the White House again. Thirty-three percent responded that he should not, and 26 percent were unsure.
Forty-one percent of likely voters said that they were at least “somewhat worried” that an “unofficial group of royal families” is forming in the United States.
Rasmussen noted that a Bush or a Clinton has run in every presidential election except one since 1988.
The poll was conducted on Dec. 28 with a sample of 1,000 likely voters and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
