Ex-Florida governor Jeb Bush said in an interview with a conservative online news site Saturday that he would “consider” running along with likely Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney if he were offered the job.

However Bush — the son of president George Bush (1989-1993) and brother of George W. Bush (2001-2009) — thought that Florida Senator Marco Rubio would be better suited for the job.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Well I’d consider it,” Bush told Newsmax.com, “but I doubt I’ll get a call, and I don’t know if it’s the right thing for me to do. I didn’t run for president for a similar kind of reason, so I’m all in to try to help him get elected.”

Bush, 59, told the West Palm Beach, Florida-based site that the Cuban-American Rubio, a rising star in the party, is “probably the best” candidate for vice president.

“Well, I can’t speak for Governor Romney, and I can’t speak for Senator Rubio, but if I was on both sides of that conversation I would ask, and I would hope that Marco would accept,” Bush told Newsmax.

“There’s a lot of things in between that may not make that happen, but I am a great admirer of Mitt Romney’s and I’m a huge fan of Marco Rubio’s, and I think the combination would be extraordinary.”

Rubio, 40, a Cuban-American who switches effortlessly between English and Spanish, could help Romney pull in the large and influential Hispanic vote, especially in swing states like Florida crucial in the general election.

ADVERTISEMENT

Rubio has publicly denied interest in the job amid the high profile race for the Republican nod, which saw Romney, a businessman and former Massachusetts governor, all but lock up the nomination earlier this month after his chief rival Rick Santorum suspended his campaign.