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Jeb Bush breaks out NASA nomenclature to signify top level bundlers

in 2017/Top Headlines by

George W. Bush had Rangers and Pioneers in 1999-2000.

Now, Jeb Bush will use NASA-related nomenclature like Apollo, Endeavor and Voyager to signify high-level financial bundlers bringing large contributions to his campaign.

The Jeb Bush donor program is being called Mission 2016 JEB, and it will have three distinct tiers for top bundlers to aspire to.
The first tier, called Apollo, will be for bundlers who can help Bush raise at least $75,000. The second tier, called Endeavour, is for donors who reach at least $150,000. Top-flight bundlers will reach the Voyager level as they help rake in at least $250,000.
The Bush campaign is also introducing a young donor program called Mission Next, and it will be led by his two sons, 39-year-old George P. Bush,  and 31-year-old Jeb Bush Jr. Mission Next will also be named after space missions. The top tier is for those who raise $45,000; the second will be for those who raise their age; and the next tier is for donors who raise less by also invest in the campaign by promoting Bush on social media or volunteering their time.

The programs are being announced less than a week after it was reported that through his super PAC or through contributions to his direct campaign, Bush has raised nearly $119 million, by far blowing away the rest of the Republican presidential field when it comes to financial contributions. All but 10 percent of that were funds that went directly to either his leadership pac, or Right to Rise, the super PAC that began collecting unlimited donations back in December, when Bush first announced he would be exploring a candidacy.

As a candidate, Bush himself can only fundraise and spend money that goes directly to his own presidential campaign, which is why there will now be at least 23 planned fundraisers taking place through mid-September, including one this Friday night in Las Vegas hosted by Jeb Bush Jr.

When George W. Bush ran for president in 1999-2000, he created (or pioneered, if you will) the system of encouraging donors to bundle campaign contributions by giving them titles like Rangers, Pioneers and Super Rangers. He also created a Mavericks program in 2004 to reward young financial donors.

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Mitch Perry has been a reporter with Extensive Enterprises since November of 2014. Previously, he served as five years as the political editor of the alternative newsweekly Creative Loafing. He also was the assistant news director with WMNF 88.5 FM in Tampa from 2000-2009, and currently hosts MidPoint, a weekly talk show, on WMNF on Thursday afternoons. He began his reporting career at KPFA radio in Berkeley. He's a San Francisco native who has now lived in Tampa for 15 years and can be reached at [email protected].

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