Jeb Bush didn't want to look like he was bought and paid for by one specific billionaire, so he limited donations to his super PAC to
a puny $1 million per person. Bush wasn't going to be seen as the candidate of Sheldon Adelson or Foster Friess or Robert Mercer—he was going to be the candidate of the entire .1 percent, or at least as much of it as he could persuade to give him money. But screw that. Time is running short, other Republicans are raising more money than expected, and Bush is now
ready to ditch his $1 million contribution cap:
Bush’s decision to put off a formal announcement is rooted in the complex nature of campaign-finance laws. As a non-federal officeholder who hasn’t yet become a candidate, he’s allowed to travel the country and solicit large contributions of unlimited amounts for Right to Rise. Once he becomes a declared candidate, though, Bush won’t be able to ask for donations of more than a few thousand dollars for the super PAC. At that time, he’ll also be prohibited from discussing strategy with the consultants and operatives who will be running the group.
One person who’d been briefed on Bush’s timeline said he was eying a June announcement, tied to his return from a trip to Poland, Germany and Estonia. Under that scenario, the former governor would have about another month to, without restriction, raise funds for Right to Rise and to communicate with the strategists who are likely to guide it.
That means that if Bush is going to balance his campaign and super PAC's coordination on the finest possible edge of the law, he needs to know in the next month or so how much money he's working with.
But hey, one thing campaign finance laws can't make Jeb give up is his brother George W.'s invaluable advice on the Middle East.