Barbara Bush to campaign for Jeb Bush in New Hampshire
Former First Lady Barbara Bush will hit the campaign trail next week in New Hampshire for her son, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, after the Iowa caucuses.
"Jeb hopes to have his mom, First Lady Barbara Bush, out on the trail soon. No date is currently set," a campaign aide told CBS News on Friday.
The candidate revealed the news on Thursday during a retail stop at Palmer's Deli and Market in Des Moines. Shaking hands and posing for pictures with the lunchtime crowd, Bush eventually worked his way to an older woman sitting by herself. Immediately after greeting her, the lady apparently inquired about the former first lady, leading Bush to exclaim, "I was just talking to her yesterday, she's coming to New Hampshire to campaign with me."
At Bush's town halls and events, his family regularly comes up in discussion. But the decision to bring Mrs. Bush out on the campaign trail signals that the former Florida governor has embraced his last name as an asset in the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
Bush first showed signs of a campaign ready to move beyond the exclamation mark when he kicked off the New Year with a town hall in Londonderry and brought up his presidential lineage unprompted.
"I get asked all the time: 'Well, are you like your brother? Are you like your dad?'" he said. "I know there's a real fascination about this. Let's just--let me get this out of the way: I love my mother more than my dad."
Most recently, at the debate on Thursday in Des Moines, Bush spoke passionately about his parents and brother when moderator Bret Baier linked Bush's pedigree to being part of the establishment.
"Look, I'm in the establishment because my dad--the greatest man alive--was president of the United States. And my brother, who I adore as well, is a fantastic brother, was president. Fine, I'll take it. And I guess I'm part of the establishment because Barbara Bush was my mom. I'll take that, too."
Barbara Bush, famously unfiltered, has had an evolution of her own in supporting Jeb Bush's bid for the White House.
"I think it's a great country, there are a lot of great families, and it's not just four families or whatever. There are other people out there that are very qualified, and we've had enough Bushes," Barbara Bush said in a 2013 interview with NBC after saying that she did not want to see Jeb Bush run for president.
The former first lady changed her mind months later -- just last week, she penned a letter explaining her change of mind --and has reprised her matriarchal role on her son's presidential campaign. The 90-year-old also made an appearance in a campaign video on behalf of her son.
"When push comes to shove, people are going to realize Jeb has real solutions rather than talking about how popular they are or how great they are," she says in the 30-second clip. "I think he'd be a great president."
CBS News' Jackie Alemany contributed to this report.