Jeb Bush is a Republican politician in the United States. Bush was governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in the 2016 election.

In 2013, statistician Nate Silver "constructed ideological scores for a set of plausible 2016 Republican candidates based on a combination of three statistical indices." Bush's ideological score on this scale was similar to that of previous Republican nominees John McCain and Mitt Romney. A January 2015 Bloomberg News analysis suggested that Jeb Bush is more conservative than former presidents George W. Bush (Jeb's brother) and George H. W. Bush (Jeb's father). Ramesh Ponnuru of the conservative National Review, writes that "Despite his reputation for moderation, on issue after issue Jeb has taken positions that are significantly to the right of his brother's — and of every other president in recent memory."

Before winning two terms as governor, Bush lost his first run for governor of Florida in 1994 to the incumbent Democratic Governor, Lawton Chiles. In his 1994 race, Bush "called himself a 'head-banging conservative.'" Andrew Prokop of Vox writes that after his loss in the 1994 election, Bush retained very conservative beliefs and policies, but sought to adopt a more moderate image.

Bush was subsequently elected governor for two terms in office, from 1999 to 2007. Darryl Paulson, professor emeritus of government at the University of South Florida, said: "[Bush] governed as a conservative, and everyone in the Florida Republican Party considered him a conservative." Adam C. Smith, political editor of the Tampa Bay Times, writes that "Bush was not just a successful Republican governor politically; he was a conservative activist governor who relished pushing the envelope on policy." Steve Schmidt, senior campaign advisor to McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign, stated that at the time Bush left office as governor of Florida, "he was widely, unanimously, unambiguously regarded as the most conservative governor in the United States." Political scientist Susan MacManus of the University of South Florida, said: "In Florida, [Bush is] still perceived as conservative, especially on fiscal issues and even on social issues."

In a February 2015 question-and-answer session with Sean Hannity at the CPAC conference, Bush stated: "I would describe myself as a practicing, reform-minded conservative."

Bush has been criticized by some Tea Party members as being insufficiently conservative, as he supports positions on immigration and the Common Core State Standards Initiative that are unpopular with some conservatives.

Bush supports legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks, making exceptions for the life of the mother, rape, or incest. In August 2015, Bush said: "My record as a pro-life governor is not in dispute. I am completely pro-life and I believe that we should have a culture of life." In 2003, Bush described himself as "probably the most pro-life governor in modern times."

As governor, Bush signed a parental notification act into law and supported the creation of a "Choose Life" specialty license plate. In 2003, Bush attracted national media attention after his administration sought the appointment of a guardian for the fetus of a developmentally disabled rape victim, a move which "angered women's rights groups and reignited the debate over abortion in Florida." In 2005, Bush sought to block a 13-year-old pregnant girl who had lived in a state-licensed group home from obtaining an abortion; a judge ruled against the state, and Bush decided not to appeal further.