Poor Jeb! For the first time ever, a majority of Republicans say they could never back Bush

So much for that campaign reboot. It looks like it may be too late for the "Jeb Can Fix It" tour

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published November 3, 2015 5:22PM (EST)

  (AP/David Goldman)
(AP/David Goldman)

On Monday, Jeb Bush set off to restart his flailing presidential campaign on a fresh path with a book of old emails from his time as Florida governor nearly a decade ago and with a recycled campaign slogan from one of England's most prolific child sex abusers. Aside from the predictable Twitter ridicule that inevitably comes with any superficial campaign reboot, so far, Jeb's new relaunch has only been met with more depressing poll numbers.

For the first time, more Republicans say they would not vote for Bush than those who would, according to a new NBC/WSJ poll. A 52 percent majority say they can't see themselves backing Bush in the primary, versus only 45 percent who can. Back in April, a whopping 70 percent of Republicans indicated they were open to voting for Bush, but Jeb's fortunes have drastically changed within his own party over the summer with the rise of political newcomers.

Rather than picking the experienced executive, as Jeb has gambled his campaign reboot will prove Republican voters truly want, the politically inexperienced Ben Carson and Donald Trump remain as Republican's top choices. Carson leads the pack with 39 percent to Trump's second place finish of 23 percent.

In contrast to Jeb's abysmal showing, only 18 percent of Republicans voters said they would never support a Carson candidacy while resistance to Trump's rise has calmed among Republican voters, with opposition dropping from high of 74 percent in March to 37 percent now.

Watch how “Jeb Can Fix It” is backfiring:

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Jeb Bush Visits Tampa in Effort to Rebrand Troubled Presidential Campaign


By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

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