DAVIE, Fla. – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told Local 10's Christina Vazquez he intends to announce whether he will run for president "later this year."
Bush was the keynote speaker at Friday's Broward Workshop Forum in Davie, where he was introduced as the "future president of the United States."
Amid rampant speculation as to whether the former two-term Republican governor would throw his hat in the ring for president, Bush played it coy when he was asked if he would get his mother's vote should he decide to run.
"So, um, yes, yes I would," Bush replied.
Of course, the Bush name is no stranger to the position. His father, George H.W. Bush, was the 41st U.S. president, while his older brother served as the 43rd president.
Bush made reference to his fundraising prowess.
"This is actually, probably for many of you, the cheapest time you have been with me," Bush jokingly told the audience.
Bush touched on a number of other topics, including trade agreements, energy and the need for immigration reform.
"Legal immigration, based on needs for our country, should be easier than illegal immigration," Bush said.
But the topic of education dominated his speech.
"To me, public education is the only government program that I know that cures poverty," Bush said.
Bush has also been a proponent of academic standards known as the common core. It is an issue the tea party has opposed and will likely play high in the primary election should he run.
A March 6 poll by ABC News and The Washington Post showed Bush leading the pack of potential candidates. But a recent Rasmussen telephone survey found that if the 2016 presidential election were held today, in a hypothetical matchup between expected Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton and Bush, 47 percent of likely voters would choose Clinton, while 33 percent would opt for Bush.