George W. Bush Joins Fight To Help GOP Hold House And Senate

Washington, DC - MAY 10: Former President George W. Bush spoke of how fighting poverty and helping the world's disadvantaged helps security in the U.S. during his acceptance speech for the 2018 Distinguished Internat... Washington, DC - MAY 10: Former President George W. Bush spoke of how fighting poverty and helping the world's disadvantaged helps security in the U.S. during his acceptance speech for the 2018 Distinguished International Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. on May 10, 2018. Other recipients were General Curtis M. Scaparrotti who received the Distinguished Military Leadership Award, Howard Schultz who received the Distinguished Business Leadership Award and Gloria Estefan who received the Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award. "These awards are designed to spotlight the inspired leadership our complex world requires. While at the same time representing essential pillars of the transatlantic relationship: political, business, arts, and humanitarian leadership," said Brent Scowcroft, Atlantic Council interim chairman. (Photo by Cheryl Diaz Meyer for The Washington Post via Getty Images) MORE LESS

September 12, 2018 8:55 a.m.

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Former President George W. Bush is planning to help his party maintain its majority in Congress and is set to fundraise for some key Republican House and Senate candidates in the coming weeks as the midterm campaign season heats up, Politico reported.

The fundraising tour will start Wednesday morning in his home state, in Fort Worth, Texas, where he’ll stub for incumbent Rep. Will Hurd, whose district President Trump lost in 2016.

On Friday, Bush will reportedly head to Florida to host private events for Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for Senate, and then will head back to Texas next week to speak at fundraisers for Senate candidate Kevin Cramer and Texas Rep. Pete Sessions.

In October, Bush will stump for Josh Hawley from Missouri and Mike Braun from Indiana. Both are running for Senate.

“While he prefers to consider himself retired from politics, President Bush recognizes how important it is to keep the Senate and decided to help a few key candidates,” Bush spokesman Freddy Ford told Politico.

While Bush has remained relatively quiet in the political sphere, he has made veiled critiques of President Donald Trump since he took office. Last October, he delivered a speech that was widely interpreted as blatant criticism of Trump, even though Bush never said Trump’s name.

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Nicole Lafond (@Nicole_Lafond) is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

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