Jeb Bush steers advisers toward Romney

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Former Gov. Jeb Bush has no plans to get publicly involved in the Republican presidential primary. Behind the scenes, though, he is steering some of his closest advisers Mitt Romney’s way.

And once directed toward the former Massachusetts governor, many are being sold on the underdog candidate, including Bush’s hand-picked state party chairman, his former campaign manager and Toni Jennings, the woman Bush chose as his lieutenant governor.

“Gov. Bush said, ‘Before you commit, I want you to meet Mitt Romney. He is the kind of guy you will like no matter what,’ ” Jennings said. “The governor was very candid about the fact that he really liked this guy.”

Jennings and a who’s who of Florida politicos are now in the Romney camp, an edge they hope will help their candidate overcome a lack of name recognition in the state.

On Friday, Romney held private meetings in Jacksonville to help build his team before appearing at a town hall meeting in central Florida at The Villages, a huge retirement community that’s a must-stop for politicians campaigning in the state.

More than 750 people turned out for the event, some arriving 90 minutes early and others forced to sit in an overflow room and watch Romney on television.

Last fall, Romney campaigned with Bush to help Florida candidates. As head of the Republican Governors Association, he also brought a $1 million check to the state Republican Party. While the GOP suffered major gubernatorial losses elsewhere, Florida was a bright spot with the election of Republican Charlie Crist.