Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said he'll run for president in 2016.
Bush, 62, made the announcement Monday during an appearance at the Kendall Campus of Miami Dade College.
It's a family tradition for Bush, who is following in the footsteps of his brother, George W. Bush, and father, George H.W. Bush.
"We will take Washington -- the static capital of this dynamic country -- out of the business of causing problems," Jeb Bush said.
Bush gets into the race six months after saying he was considering a campaign. In his kickoff speech, he said Democrats are responsible for "the slowest economic recovery ever, the biggest debt increases ever, a massive tax increase on the middle class, the relentless buildup of the regulatory state, and the swift, mindless drawdown of a military that was generations in the making."
Bush said he is "not eager to see what another four years would look like under that kind of leadership."
"We will take Washington -- the static capital of this dynamic country -- out of the business of causing problems," Bush said.
His mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, was in attendance, but his father and brother were not.
Bush's entry in the crowded race sets up an in-state contest with former colleague, one-time protégé and friend, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. On his website Monday, Rubio welcomed Bush to the race.
"In politics, people throw around the word 'friend' so much it often has little real meaning," Rubio said. "This is not one of those times. When I call Jeb Bush a friend, I mean he is someone I like, care for and respect. He and I have worked closely together for many years, on issues big and small. He is a passionate advocate for what he believes, and I welcome him to the race."
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If his campaign is victorious, the Bush clan will become the only American family to have elected three of their own to the highest office in the land.
"If Jeb wins, we have the most successful dynastic line in American political history, bar none," said historian Rick Perlstein, author of multiple books tracing the history of the Republican Party. "I don't think you see this level of accomplishment across the generations with the Kennedys. You have a senator in Prescott Bush, and the son becomes president, then the grandson is also president, and now you throw in a former governor who might be a president."
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Bush has suffered a few stumbles in the months leading up to Monday's announcement, most notably when he struggled to answer questions about his brother's invasion of Iraq, a line of questioning many Republicans said he should have anticipated. And he's gone out of his way to avoid declaring himself a presidential contender -- until now -- so he could keep raising money for the Right to Rise super PAC backing his candidacy.
With his brother's presidency still deeply polarizing in the mind of the electorate, and foreign policy once again rising as a top public concern, his campaign will test the nation's appetite for another Republican named Bush.
Should Clinton capture the Democratic nomination, a 2016 campaign between Bush and Clinton would undoubtedly be clouded by questions about legacy, nepotism and the vitality of a political system seemingly dominated by a pair of powerful families with close ties to wealthy elites in Washington and on Wall Street.
Those anxieties would unfold against the backdrop of an America confronting dramatic shifts in demographics, economic behaviors and generational tastes, challenging the maxim that presidential campaigns are about the future rather than the past.
Before that dynamic comes to pass, the pragmatic Bush must first overcome the more pressing challenge of securing the GOP nomination, a steep hill to climb for a self-styled reformer who has called for an ever-more-conservative Republican Party to temper its rhetoric, change its thinking and expand its appeal to nontraditional voters. In pre-campaign visits to the early nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire, Bush promised to run a "joyful" campaign that capitalizes on optimism rather than fear.
"I know we can fix this," Bush said. "Because I've done it."
As Bush introduced his mother Monday, a group of several young people removed their outer shirts, revealing yellow t-shirts underneath that spelled out, "Legal status is not enough."
"Just so that our friends know, the next president of the United States will pass meaningful immigration reform, so that that will be solved -- not by executive order," Bush said, departing from the prepared remarks of his speech.
Bush prefers creating a path to legal status for the millions of immigrants now living in the country illegally as part of an overhaul, rather than a path to U.S. citizenship.
He opposes the executive actions taken by President Barack Obama to grant work permits and stays of deportation to millions of immigrants living in this country illegally. Those actions were later put on hold by a federal judge.
"I will run with heart, and I will run to win," he said.
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Who's in and who could run in 2016?