Jeb going for a news cycle by hinting he'd have a female running mate https://t.co/qj4aXD9S65 — Justin Green (@JGreenDC) December 1, 2015

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hinted on Tuesday that he is considering a female running mate in 2016.

“Should I be elected president, I would have my vice president — I think she will be a great partner,” the Republican White House hopeful said in Waterloo, Iowa.

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Bush quickly walked back the remark.

“I mean, did I say that out loud?” Bush asked. "We always talk about this with one gender in mind. I think we’ve reached the point in our country where maybe we should be a little less gender-specific about this.

“Frankly, the one important element of selecting a vice presidential candidate is whether he or she is qualified to be president. Everything else is secondary," he added.

Bush’s remarks come as he conducts a three-day tour of Iowa beginning Monday, according to The Des Moines Register.

Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses are looming for the presidential field. Both the Republican and Democratic votes are scheduled for Feb 1.

Bush currently ranks fifth out of 14 GOP candidates in Iowa, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average.

He takes the same place nationally, trailing front-runner Donald Trump by approximately 23 percent.