Florida lawmaker praises Jeb Bush

Rep. John Mica lauded fellow Republican and Floridian Jeb Bush, who is slated to enter the presidential race Monday afternoon, calling him the most qualified person to take over the White House in 2016.

“The field is big and we’ve got some great candidates, but I can tell you that I’ve been in the state since 1956, we’ve never had the opportunity in Florida or in the nation to elect a more qualified individual to take us out of sort of the doldrums that we’ve had in the past number of years with this administration,” Mica said Monday on CNN’s “Wolf.”

{mosads}He praised Bush’s leadership as governor in the wake of 9/11, bringing the state “back to prosperity.” He added that Bush is a “compassionate conservative that wants to make people’s lives better.”

Bush, who is announcing his candidacy Monday, announced endorsements from Mica and 10 other Florida Republican House members last week. 

While Mica referred to the other Florida presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, as a “very fine gentleman,” he said that Bush’s resume was unparalleled.

“If you look at the whole range of Republican candidates, there is no one better respected internationally, there is no one with a resume that can do the job and has also already done the job and proven in the job,” Mica said.

“There’s no question Jeb Bush is my candidate.”