George P. Bush's political future: How far can he go?

Jeb Bush's son makes it official: He's going into the family business

George P. Bush: Great-grandson of a senator, grandson of a president, son of a governor, and nephew of a president.
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Another member of the Bush clan is getting into politics. George P. Bush, the eldest son of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, officially announced Tuesday that he's running for land commissioner in Texas. Some political watchers had speculated that the young Bush would aim higher and run for governor — a position his uncle, George W. Bush, held before winning the presidency. But land commissioner is a big job in Texas, and often a springboard to bigger things — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst served as land commissioner, and the current commissioner, Republican Jerry Patterson, is looking to move up, too. Will this campaign be the start of big things for George P. Bush?

Bush's supporters have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The most obvious, of course, is his political pedigree: Great-grandson of a powerful senator, grandson of former president George H.W. Bush, nephew of George W., son of Jeb. George P. Bush made direct reference to the family dynasty in a video announcing his candidacy, when he explained how his family inspired him to run. "You probably know her as former first lady Barbara Bush," he said, "but to me she's just Ganny. The lesson Ganny taught me? The importance of public service."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.