Fomer Florida Governor Jeb Bush spoke at a fundraising dinner in Tampa on Friday night for the Republican Party.

Bush, who announced his candidacy this week for President of the United States, was the keynote the annual Hillsborough County Republican Party’s annual fundraising dinner, "An Evening with Abraham Lincoln.” 

"You may have heard that on Monday I announced something I’m pretty excited about, I’m a candidate for the President of the United States," Bush said.

Bush told the crowd he was successful in Florida, and wants to bring that experience to the White House. But he admitted, in order to win, Republicans have to branch out.

"The next conservative has to go campaign in places they haven’t seen a Republican in awhile," Bush said. "We need to go to black churches and talk about school choice. We need to campaign in the Latino communities to make sure they know that they’re welcome."

When Bush agreed to speak at the dinner, he had not announced his candidacy yet. Local party leaders say it really amped up the excitement of the event, and they hope that translates into more money.

Bush served two terms as Florida’s governor from 1999 to 2007. 

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford was the master of ceremonies. 

Additional speakers included Governor Bob Martinez and two current state office holders in Florida, Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez Cantera and Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

Several members from Florida’s Congressional delegation also participated, including Congressmen Gus Bilirakis, Dennis Ross, Thomas Rooney, David Jolly and Jeff Miller.