Being a young Jeb Bush donor has some pretty sweet perks.
According to documents obtained by The Daily Beast, the campaign is looking to motivate millennial would-be backers with the possibility of joining a reception with “special guests” in Kennebunkport, the picturesque seaside town where generations of Bushes have summered.
“Please accept Jeb Bush, Jr.’s challenge to become a member of the Young Professionals 15 in FIFTEEN team in support of Jeb 2016!” read a document circulated among wealthy Republican millennials. Jeb Bush Jr. is Bush’s youngest son.
The first 20 young professionals who raise $15,000 for Jeb Bush before the June 30 deadline will be invited to Kennebunkport for an “Evening Picnic” on July 9. That event will feature said special guest attendees.
The Bush campaign didn’t respond to a request for further details on the picnic plans and mysterious guests.
All the Emerging Leaders also get “Limited edition YP 15 in FIFTEEN gifts” and the privilege of being on a conference call with Jeb Jr. And, per the document, they’ll be listed on the host committee for a “Young Professionals” launch party in the Hamptons.
“YP 15 in FIFTEEN includes direct solicited contributions only,” says the document.
Participants get a tracking number so the campaign can follow who’s raised how much money.
Elder Kennebunkport aspirants needn’t fear. Members of the over-32 set can be part of the 27-in-FIFTEEN team if they raise $27,000 by the deadline. Documents indicate that there’s no twenty-person cut-off for them; if you crack $27,000, that golden picnic ticket is yours.
Plus, there are even cooler bonuses for the $27,000-raisers: They get to stick around past the picnic for a “Morning Political and Campaign Briefing with Jeb 2016 Senior Staff.” And they get to be on a conference call with Jeb Sr. Yee-haw.
But the youths stuck with just a Jeb Jr. conference call aren’t necessarily getting sold short. The Washington Post reported that the younger Jeb—nickname: Jebby—is “a frequent travel companion and active campaign surrogate for his father, with a focus on building support among Hispanic and millennial voters.” The paper also noted that Jeb Jr. has helmed fundraisers for his old man in Miami nightclubs, New York apartments, and Washington, D.C., restaurants (presumably at the few that don’t suck).
It’s unclear if the Kennebunkport event will be inside the Bush family grounds. If it is, construction is underway for a house on that compound that will be designated as Jeb’s. The Boston Globe reported that the home is going up on an acre worth $1.3 million.
“[A]s he tries to appeal to middle-class Americans in his likely Republican presidential campaign—and distinguish himself as his own man, distinct from the legacies of his father and brother—having a vacation home erected on a spit of land in coastal Maine could be a vivid reminder of the complications facing his campaign,” wrote the paper.
The Globe’s warnings may not be packing much punch. Inviting generous millennials out to the family’s ancestral town could indicate that Bush isn’t as concerned about his family’s #brand as the paper suggests he needs to be.