Bush draws passionate crowd to Hiawatha field office

HIAWATHA — When Jeb Bush announced his candidacy for the White House last summer, pundits and observers marked the former Florida governor as a hot contender in the race for the Republican nomination. But when he spoke to supporters Sunday, the eve of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, Bush was polling at just 4 percent among likely GOP caucusgoers, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.

While his supporters may be few compared to front-runners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, they are passionate. About 200 people crammed into the candidate's Eastern Iowa field office in Hiawatha to hear a brief address from Bush, asking him for autographs, photos and short conversations.

'Your work makes me believe I have a very good chance of being the Republican nominee, and I will be the president of the United States, and I will not let you down,' he said. 'It has been an extraordinary effort. You guys have done more work, made more calls and knocked on more doors than any campaign, and I'm grateful for that.'

Those volunteers peppered attendees with 'Jeb! 2016' stickers and asked them to sign 'commit to caucus' cards. When the crowd cleared following the event, volunteers set up laptops and headsets, preparing to make final calls to voters before caucus night.

'I am so grateful for the army of people here in Iowa and across the country that believes our future can be brighter,' Bush said. 'I believe I can be an effective president of the United States and I know I can beat Hillary Clinton in the general election.'

Though Bush and his PACs have managed to raise millions from wealthy donors, his campaign hasn't been able to match the momentum of Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.

Bush, making a final attempt before Monday's caucuses to draw undecided voters to his side, criticized his opponents' lack of experience and divisive policy positions.

'This is important because our country is really at a crossroads,' he said. 'Are we going to elect … a candidate that embraces the third-term of Obama economics and Obama foreign policy?'

'No!' shouted the crowd collectively.

'Are we going to elect someone that's there to fulfill people's angst and anger but doesn't have a plan to resolve the great challenges that we face and doesn't have the leadership skills necessary to solve these problems?' Bush asked, taking a shot at front-runner Trump. 'We have candidates that are gifted talkers, but there's nothing in their background that would suggest they have the ability to fix the mess in Washington D.C.'

Bush, a former two-term Florida governor, said his leadership experience makes him the right pick for the Republican nomination.

'Let's get out and caucus,' he concluded.