Jeb Bush: A Republican Should Run Against Trump In 2020 – Washington Examiner

President Trump’s former primary rival Jeb Bush called on a Republican candidate to challenge the president in the 2020 GOP nomination because the party “ought to be a given a choice.”

“I think someone should run. Just because Republicans ought to be given a choice,” said Bush in an interview with former Obama adviser David Axelrod, which is set to air Saturday on CNN.

Bush, who served as Florida’s governor from 1999-2007, acknowledged a Republican opponent’s chances of beating Trump in 2020 will be an uphill climb because “he has a strong, loyal base.”

“It’s hard to beat a sitting president,” he said. “But to have a conversation about what it is to be a conservative I think is important.”

Bush made the comments as he was discussing Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, a potential Trump challenger, according to CNN. Hogan is heading to New Hampshire in late April. The state is a must-stop for presidential candidates because it holds the first primary in the nation.

A poll released earlier this week found 41 percent of registered Republicans in Iowa wanted someone from their party to run against Trump.

Last month, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld said he formed an exploratory committee to pursue the possibility of running against Trump as a Republican. Weld was Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson’s running mate in 2016.