No candidate has embraced the tailgate campaign as fervently as Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor who plans four trips this football season deep into SEC country, including upcoming visits to Alabama and Mississippi for matchups in November.
When he last visited Athens — wearing neutral colors ahead of a game against South Carolina — Bush was late to an event at a tailgating spot because it took him about 25 minutes to wade through a crowd of students and supporters who wanted to snap pictures with him. It took him another hour to emerge from the selfie-scrum.
Bush's SEC Selfie Tour went much the same way last Saturday in Knoxville, where a crowd of mostly students clad in Tennessee's orange-and-white gathered in a patch of greenspace outside Neyland Stadium to hear the Republican's pitch.
“Why not? There’s a ton of people already coming. I just want to hear what he has to say,” said Ben Kerr, a 20-year-old UGA student from Brunswick who considers himself undecided in next year’s contest.
"It's a ready-made audience and you're guaranteed to get a crowd," Kerr said. "And when I've seen a candidate — and maybe met him — I'm more likely to vote for him."
Robbie Robinson, another undecided voter, said Bush’s visit will stick with him.
"College football means the most to us in the South," the 24-year-old said. "And if you show us you care about it, it means a lot."
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
