After Erickson's story reverberated through the political world on Thursday morning, Bush campaign spokesman Tim Miller tweeted

There was no staff call. Desperate fake leak by Marco 2 press bc his ballot stalled. Internals have Jeb/Cruz/Marco MOE. Raised sig $ this wk

Al Cardenas, a longtime Bush insider and senior fundraiser, told The Hill — with his tongue firmly planted in cheek — that he was amazed that "Erick has better information than I do."

"I am traveling on Saturday to Nevada to help oversee that effort, and we have staff waiting for me," Cardenas said in a telephone interview. "And nobody's been notified about this information.

"It would come as a surprise to [Bush campaign] staff that Erick's been notified ahead of them."

Another senior source familiar with the Bush fundraising and campaign machinery described the story as "complete bullshit."

"It's a f------ civil war [with Rubio], that's what it is ... Jeb Bush is a proud dude. ... We are not going to announce to the world that the campaign will finish on Saturday."

Cardenas said that all the Bush campaign needed to do in Saturday's South Carolina primary to justify its ongoing existence is finish ahead of John Kasich and "neck-and-neck" with the Florida senator.