As Jeb Bush gears up for 2016, South Carolina is a case study in GOP’s shift right – The Washington Post

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has been good to the Bushes.

This is where George W. Bush vanquished John McCain on his way to clinching the 2000 Republican presidential nomination. Once in the White House, Bush nurtured his family’s strong ties to the state by making frequent visits here and tapping local supporters for ambassadorships.

But as Jeb Bush considers his own presidential campaign, deep-red South Carolina — which he visited on Monday — offers a case study in how dramatically the political waters have shifted since his older brother and father entered the White House.

When the Bush network was at its zenith here, this state’s current Republican power players were relative nobodies. Gov. Nikki Haley was balancing the books at her mother’s clothing and jewelry boutique, Sen. Tim Scott was sitting on the Charleston County Council and state GOP chairman Matt Moore was finishing high school.

The Republican Party here and elsewhere has become more strident and restless, with new power centers and less certainty, presenting a candidate like Bush with fresh challenges in navigating the Republican primaries. Some of South Carolina’s leading GOP strategists and elected officials said the former Florida governor will have to nimbly adapt.

via As Jeb Bush gears up for 2016, South Carolina is a case study in GOP’s shift right – The Washington Post.