It’s still early on in the 2016 presidential race, but one of the Republican Party’s top dogs is already taking heat over an apparent error he made more than six years ago.
Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor currently pursuing the GOP’s nomination in next year’s election, incorrectly listed his ethnicity as ‘Hispanic’ on his 2009 voter registration form, the New York Times reported on Monday.
According to the newspaper, paperwork obtained from the Miami-Dade County Elections Department in Florida shows that the quite-Caucasian son of former president George H.W. Bush filled in the wrong circle on the form’s race/ethnicity category.
“It’s unclear where the paperwork error was made. The governor’s family certainly got a good laugh out of it,” Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell told USA Today.
Indeed, the governor’s son, Jeb Bush Jr., responded to the news by sending a tweet to his father that read “LOL—come on dad, think you checked the wrong box #HonoraryLatino.”
“My mistake! Don’t think I’ve fooled anyone!” the governor replied.
My mistake! Don’t think I’ve fooled anyone! RT @JebBushJr LOL - come on dad, think you checked the wrong box #HonoraryLatino
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) April 6, 2015
As the Times acknowledged, however, Jeb Bush Sr. does, in fact, have some strong ties with the Hispanic community. His wife, Columba, was born in Mexico, the paper reported, and they both speak fluent Spanish.
In December, Bush said that he decided to explore the possibility of running for president of the United States after having Thanksgiving dinner with his family.
“We shared good food and watched a whole lot of football,” Bush said at the time. “We also talked about the future of our nation. As a result of these conversations and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership I think America needs, I have decided to actively explore the possibility of running for president of the United States.”
Hola, amigos! Me llamow Heb. Soy Hispanico. Well, soy hispano asi asi. Only quando voter: http://t.co/qo0Z3Am1PG
— Yeb Bush (@MexicanJeb) April 6, 2015
Since then, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he’d be vying for the GOP’s nod in next year election, and Rep. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky)—also the son of a Texas Republican—is expected to announce his own plans for the White House on Tuesday this week.
Bush, 62, served as governor of Florida from 1999 through 2007. In addition to being the son of the forty-first US president, his brother, George W. Bush, preceded Barack Obama as commander-in-chief.