Making matters worse, Jeb didn’t have the common touch of his older brother. Over and over again, reporters told the story of George, the screw-up brother who somehow became president, and Jeb, the good son who somehow was failing to take advantage of his chance, but once both appeared together it was clear why their fortunes had played out that way. Trump memorably tagged Jeb as “low energy,” and he was unable to shed it, only showing real emotion late in the campaign, when he started to get irritable. In October, before the real panic set in, he lashed out.

“If this election is about how we’re going to fight to get nothing done, then I don’t want anything—I don’t want any part of it,” Bush said. “I’ve got a lot of really cool things I could do other than sit around, being miserable, listening to people demonize me and feeling compelled to demonize them. That is a joke. Elect Trump if you want that.”

In a gesture that might have seemed endearing if it were not so sad, he took to handing out small plastic turtles at campaign stops, insisting he was the proverbial tortoise to Trump’s hare. By February, Bush seemed mostly pitiable, pleading with an audience: “Please clap.” Last week, after learning that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley had decided to endorse Rubio, he angrily asked whether he should quit campaigning.

Little wonder he was upset. By this week, there were already reports of doom out of the Bush campaign. Erick Erickson reported that the campaign was out of money. Politico said donors were refusing to give more, and staffers were circulating resumes. Almost the whole Bush family had joined Jeb in South Carolina, but it didn’t seem like preparation for a triumphant comeback—one more Bush family win in the Palmetto State—but for the end.

What will Jeb Bush’s legacy in the 2016 race be? For a one-time frontrunner, the answer is precious little. It’s hard to see much policy impact, and given his standing in the polls, hard to see much political impact. In the final months of the campaign, Bush tried to position himself as Trump’s top assailant, attacking him during debates and on the stump—whether because he thought that would benefit him or because he figured he might as well help the party out on his way out.

His major impact, however, may be the damage he did to his former protege Marco Rubio. First, by staying in the race well past the time when he realistically had a chance, Bush clogged up the “establishment lane” Rubio needs to consolidate. Secondly, Right to Rise unloaded on Rubio for weeks, trying to weaken him to Bush’s benefit. It didn’t help Jeb, but it might have hurt Marco. Rubio heads to Nevada, after finishing abreast of Cruz in South Carolina—and that’s the highest he’s finished so far. Maybe Rubio would have faltered anyway, but if the race comes down to Cruz and Trump, expect a great deal of establishment finger-pointing at Bush and Right to Rise for destroying Rubio’s chances.