At his first official stop as a surrogate for his father's presidential campaign, George P. Bush told supporters Wednesday in Nevada, "My dad is the right man at the right time for this country."
The eldest son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush addressed a crowd of about fifty people at an upscale Mexican restaurant, Mundo, a few miles from the Las Vegas strip.
Part of his message? Getting caucus support in Nevada, a key early-voting state in the primaries.
"It is projected that there will be 45,000 caucus-goers in this state, that it'll probably only take about 10,000 supporters for Dad - to make sure we nominate him as our next Republican candidate against Hillary Clinton," he said.
Jeb Bush, who formally announced his candidacy this week after months of anticipation, faces a crowded primary field that so far includes about a dozen other Republicans.
"If you believe in your candidate, we're the first in the west," said Michael McDonald, chairman of the Nevada Republican Party. "It's important you get out, you get your people, you get them united, and you get behind your candidate."
The city of Las Vegas, meanwhile, is playing host to the conference of National Association of Latino Elected Officials this week. Three presidential candidates - Republican Ben Carson, and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders - are addressing attendees. An estimated 28 million Latinos may be eligible to vote in the 2016 election, with immigration reform a central issue to many in the Hispanic community.
"He's a man who wants to see solutions," said George P. Bush of his father. "Because the current situation, I think many Americans would agree, is broken, whether you're Hispanic or not.
At Wednesday evening's event, Bush smiled and chatted with attendees who wanted photos with him.
"I intend to be back whenever possible outside my duties in the great state of Texas," he said.
The younger Bush was elected Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office in November.
"We may be looking at the fourth President Bush," joked McDonald. "You did your father proud here today."
