Jeb Bush's team sets bold fundraising goal: $100 million in three months

The targets were confirmed by multiple Republican sources involved in finance meetings with Bush’s team. They requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. One said the point is to persuade some establishment candidates to stay on the sidelines in the 2016 race.

The attempt to intimidate the wide-open field with a shock-and-awe fundraising machine echoes the strategy Bush’s brother, former President George W. Bush, used to win the White House in 2000. In 1999, then-Texas Governor Bush raised $37 million in the first half of the year and $29 million in the third quarter, breaking records and pressuring other contenders, such as Elizabeth Dole, Dan Quayle, John Kasich, and Lamar Alexander, to end their campaigns swiftly or decide not to start one.

Even coming close to the $100 million goal would send a similar message to Jeb Bush’s potential rivals, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, and would have the added benefit of locking up some of the party’s most formidable fundraisers and donors.