High style but low polling mark Bush campaign

There were stays at boutique hotels, private soirees at members-only clubs and fundraisers at the Four Seasons, the St. Regis and the Mandarin Oriental.

In the world of Jeb Bush, the campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination has at times been a whirl of private planes and high-end affairs, according to the federal filings of his campaign and his Super PAC, Right to Rise, which can raise unlimited funds for Bush as long as it does not coordinate directly with him.

It is not unusual for presidential candidates to fly in private planes or even sometimes stay in luxury hotels. But some disgruntled donors say they are unhappy with the Bush camp's large outlays, which include big spending on staff and tens of millions of dollars in ad buys - with little to show for it.

Eleven of 16 major donors contacted by Reuters questioned whether it was money well-spent, especially given how the one-time front-runner has stumbled badly in the polls, placing fifth in the most recent Real Clear Politics average of nationwide polls at 4.8 percent support.

In contrast to Bush, Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running second in national polls of Republican voters, favors cheaper accommodation options like Holiday Inn and often flies on budget carriers, campaign filings through the third quarter show.

Several members of the Bush camp vigorously reject the critiques. 'We are running a national campaign that is competing everywhere and we have made investments that have allowed us to do what serious campaigns must do to be competitive in the primary and general elections,” campaign spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said,

Ad-tracking firm SMG Delta said Bush's campaign and Right to Rise have spent $82 million on ads, significantly more than the three leading candidates in the GOP race: Donald Trump ($5 million); Cruz ($11 million) and Sen. Marco Rubio ($49 million). The tracking firm's data is more up to date than what has been reported so far in the federal filings.

Sunday, donors will learn just how much Bush has spent from his $100 million-plus war chest. That's when Republican and Democratic candidates and their Super PACs release their latest campaign finance reports.

Finance reports that have been filed show that between June, when Bush announced his candidacy, and September, the campaign spent $1.2 million on private planes, compared with about $700,000 spent during the same period by Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Cruz spent $158,000 on private planes, and Rubio $293,300. Trump flies in his own Boeing 757.

Ambassador Jeanne Phillips, a member of the Right to Rise governance committee, laughed off criticism.

'I've known Jeb for 30 years, so the idea that Jeb would allow anyone around him to be frivolous with money is hilarious, it's ridiculous,” she said. 'The man is the most conservative, fiscally responsible person I've ever worked with.”

Bush's campaign committee paid for all lodging on the campaign trail and the vast majority of private air charter, while Right To Rise paid for nearly all the known ad spending.

Money donated by both large and small donors kept the Bush camp traveling in style. There were stays at luxury hotels including the Wilshire in Beverly Hills, the Viceroy in Florida, the St. Regis in Dana Point, Calif. and the W in Stamford, Conn.

The campaign filings, though, do not offer a complete picture. It is not clear for example, how many nights were spent at each of the hotels or whether it was Bush himself who stayed, or his staff members instead.

Bush isn't the only candidate spending at high-end hotels, but it's a high proportion of his overall hotel spending. He spent $125,000, or 70 percent of his total hotel spending between June and September, on hotels defined as luxury or 'upper upscale” luxury hotels by STR Global, which tracks data in the hotel industry.

Cruz and Rubio each spent less on luxury hotels and a smaller proportion of their overall lodging expenses on them, at roughly 56 percent and 61 percent, respectively, federal filings show. Trump flies home nearly every night so he can sleep in his own bed.

Bush defenders said the spending on high-end venues was simply how the donor world operates.

'If you can hold an event at a fancy hotel and raise millions, then it's well worth holding it at a swanky hotel” said Charlie Spies, counsel for Right to Rise.

The Bush camp has spent more on staff and consultants than any of the leading candidates. Starting around spring, Bush paid about $8 million. Cruz spent $2 million; Rubio, under $2 million; and Trump, $1.7 million.

Bush's prospects were far brighter last summer when Trump had yet to join the race and Bush was making headlines for the size of his war chest. His Super PAC had just cracked its goal of raising more than $100 million in six months - an unprecedented haul in American politics.