Bush donors eye Rubio

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Jeb Bush has bought his struggling presidential campaign more time, even as Marco Rubio threatens to siphon off the financing that is the lifeblood of his 2016 aspirations.

The former Florida governor delivered a solid, issues-oriented performance Tuesday in the latest Republican debate, which calmed top Bush donors and bundlers who had become disenchanted with the direction of his campaign. Bush can't survive without the financial backing of his vast network of GOP insiders. Their support had wavered following Bush's disastrous showing in the previous debate 12 days earlier that included a bungled attempt to tear down Rubio.

"Everyone in Jeb World admitted that the third debate was a tough one, but he did very well this week," Jay Zeidman, a well-connected Bush donor from Houston, told the Washington Examiner on Friday. "Raising money between the third and the fourth debates was certainly a challenge, but fortunately there was a short turn around."

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