The first salvos in the war for the White House were fired in Miami on Monday with the two families most heavily backed by pollsters, bookies and donors officially beginning a dynastic battle unprecedented in American history.
Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton have been their parties’ putative frontrunners for the 2016 presidential election since December 2014, when the former Florida governor surprised many Republicans by announcing his interest in possibly following his brother and father’s footsteps into the Oval Office.
Former secretary of state Clinton confirmed her more widely anticipated second run for the Democratic nomination in April, but it has taken another two months for both candidates to begin competing for votes – and money – in earnest and in the open.
Clinton’s first big speech in New York on Saturday was matched on Monday by a similar launch event in Bush’s adopted hometown of Miami during which he mapped out a conservative approach far removed from her increasingly populist progressive agenda.