Jeb Bush is emerging as a serious contender for the Republican nomination in the 2016 American presidential election. How will his Catholicism, his rapport with Hispanic voters and his moderate views on immigration and education play with the party’s conservative majority? Increasingly, the speculation about a 2016 US presidential bid by Jeb Bush, the son and brother of presidents, is focusing not on “if” but on “when” he will declare his candidacy. The former governor of Florida has been delivering high-profile speeches and seeking both to capitalise on his reputation as a Republican with crossover appeal and to mend fences with conservatives distrustful of his positions on education reform and immigration. But Bush’s recent forays seem less like test