I must say it’s a smart move. If the ship is going down and there is another boat nearby, you jump! What are you staying on board for? Why get pulled down with a sinking campaign?
Florida Bush fundraiser Brian Ballard saw the writings on the wall and is now riding on the Rubio boat.
Brian Ballard, a lobbyist in Tallahassee who donated $20,000 to the pro-Bush super PAC Right to Rise USA, told Politico on Thursday that he had privately abandoned Bush earlier but wanted to make his concerns public now to discourage him from bashing Rubio.
“The campaign has become negative, one that is about attacking and trying to bring down Marco Rubio. And that doesn’t sit well – not only with me, but with anyone who knows the two,” Ballard said. “Marco’s a friend of mine. I didn’t sign up for a campaign that was going to be negative and attack a bright star of the party’s future. It doesn’t make sense. I’m over it. And I’m done.”
A source familiar with Ballard’s thinking confirmed to NBC News on Thursday that Ballard was switching his allegiance to Rubio. While Ballard is a major Florida fundraiser who previously backed the presidential campaigns of John McCain and Mitt Romney, he is not listed as one of Bush’s bundlers — supporters who have raised more than $17,600 for the campaign itself.
