MANCHESTER, N.H. – Frustration inside Bush world has begun to spill into open view, with even the most outspoken family loyalists admitting it may soon be time to move on.

With the New Hampshire primary just days away and polls showing him still trailing Marco Rubio, there is an increasing sense that Jeb Bush is running out of time to demonstrate strength.


Many donors and influential supporters, bound by a deep and longstanding connection to the patrician clan, say they will remain with Bush no matter what. Yet others, deeply distressed by the rise of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and eager for the Republican Party to rally around a mainstream candidate with viability, say they have come to terms with Bush’s long odds and the possibility they will eventually get behind someone else.

“I acknowledge reality. There’s going to be three or four candidates remaining after New Hampshire,” said former Minnesota Rep. Vin Weber, a Jeb Bush adviser who also worked on George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns. “I think the field is going to narrow pretty quickly. We’ll see what happens in South Carolina, and from there you can see the dynamic starting to winnow the field pretty quickly.”

While Weber said he would remain with Bush as long as he was in the race, others said they may soon head for the exits. Barring a strong showing, they said, Wednesday could be a day of deep reflection for them.

“If he doesn’t do well in New Hampshire, I think he needs to think long and hard about what he wants to do,” said one top Bush fundraiser who played a key role in his brother’s administration.

Another high profile Bush financial backer, who has also been close to the family for years, said most of Bush’s donors would give him until the South Carolina primary on Feb. 20. “That’s when they say, ‘Enough.’”

There is still some reason for optimism. If recent polls are to be believed, Bush has climbed to within striking distance of second place, putting him in a head-to-head competition with his chief rival, Rubio. And he might have more upside after Saturday night, when Bush emerged relatively unscathed from the GOP debate while Rubio stumbled badly under a barrage of attacks, largely from Chris Christie.

Yet Bush’s top aides are still struggling to keep restless supporters in line. On Thursday, three days after the former governor barely registered in the Iowa caucuses, the pro-Bush super PAC Right to Rise held a conference call with top donors to outline the path forward. At one point, Mike Murphy, a longtime top Bush adviser who oversees Right to Rise, was pressed by a donor on why the super PAC’s substantial spending had yet to improve the former governor’s poll numbers.

For Bush’s supporters, though, the question of whether to desert him is a complicated one. Bush’s network of loyal donors and political supporters is far more extensive than that of any of his rivals. The ties between them and the Bush family – to which many of them remain deeply indebted – are strong and long-lasting. This weekend, dozens of longtime Bush family friends and supporters from across the country descended on New Hampshire to trudge through the snow and knock on doors.

“There’s no question that some of us have had long relationships with the family, from Prescott Bush to George W. Bush. Most of the folks I know who were with us in 1988, 1992, 2000, and 2004 and here with us now,” said Lawrence Bathgate, the Republican National Committee finance chairman under President George H.W. Bush, pointing to the family’s long list of presidential campaigns. “I have no intention of leaving the team at all and I think most people feel the same way.”

If some backers do begin to walk away, it could alter the trajectory of the campaign. The former governor, who has raised well over $120 million, has a deep well of donors who could go on to fill another contender’s coffers.

To date, Bush has lost relatively few high profile contributors. One exception came in November when Brian Ballard, a top Florida-based fundraiser, announced he was ditching the campaign out of disagreements over strategy.

Some say they are hesitant to leave Bush because there is a growing sense that he has no intention of departing the race soon. He has said publicly to supporters, and privately to senior aides, that he will fight on to South Carolina and his team has begun planning a campaign event there with George W. Bush. His campaign is getting ready to send a bus of Bush loyalists from Washington, D.C. to South Carolina.

To many of Bush’s closest followers, the thought of him dropping out is almost unthinkable – particularly if Rubio emerges as the leading establishment candidate. Among Bush’s top advisers, the dislike of Rubio -- who for years was a junior figure to Bush in Florida politics and is seen as deeply disloyal -- is intense. One top Bush fundraiser said that on conference calls with the campaign Rubio has been called “Judas,” a reference to the biblical figure who had betrayed Jesus.

But with the governor struggling, some - for all their feelings of closeness to the family – hint that they are beginning to think about the possibility of a 2016 campaign without him.

“One thing I am is a loyal guy and I’m loyal to the Bush family. It’s been a wild ride,” said Francis Rooney, who served as an ambassador under George W. Bush and has been a major donor to Jeb Bush’s campaign. “Sooner or later the process is going to unfold and we’ll see who gains traction.”

At times in recent weeks, the gloomy outlook in the campaign has been interrupted by moments of humor.

Shortly after kicking off the Right to Rise conference call last week, Murphy introduced himself to listeners and began his initial remarks. Then, he was suddenly interrupted.

“Ah, f--- you,” one person on the line blurted out.

There was silence. Those on the call wondered: Was a frustrated donor, unhappy about Bush’s lagging poll numbers and his crushing defeat in Iowa, directing venom toward Murphy?

(As it turned out, the expletive-using caller was none other than Charlie Spies, the veteran Republican election attorney who represents Right to Rise. Spies had been cut off by a driver and had forgotten to turn on his mute button, though at the time the listeners on the call – and Murphy – didn’t know that.)

Murphy, though, was ready with a witty rejoinder.

“Is that Senator Rubio?” he shot back.

