Struggling to set himself apart from the rest of the Republican presidential field, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took his campaign for the White House to Pensacola Wednesday, nearly 11 years after Hurricane Ivan dealt the city a heavy blow.
Bush's brief detour from the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina was designed to underscore his record as an effective crisis manager, which his campaign says makes him uniquely qualified to occupy the Oval Office.
"This was a trying time but it was an inspirational time for this community, and I'm proud of how you all behaved and I'm proud of how the state responded," Bush told a town hall meeting of the hurricane's aftermath.
Many Floridians' memories of the disastrous 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons include Bush's televised briefings from Florida's Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, where he became intimately involved in the details of the state's response to the storms.
"He was down on the ground making sure that, you know, they were going to get back in the game, and I think experience-wise, I think it's hard to beat him," said Isaiah Pyritz, a Pensacola resident and self-described conservative Republican who lived through Hurricane Ivan.
Still, Pyritz added, "That doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to vote for him."
Though Bush and the super PAC supporting his candidacy lead the GOP pack in terms of money raised, polls show the former governor trailing real estate mogul Donald Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Many political strategists say Bush's biggest hindrance may be his famous last name.
"I know for me to win, I've got to tell the Jeb story, and the Jeb story starts Florida," Bush said in response to a question about 'Bush fatigue.'