WASHINGTON: Jeb Bush announced on Tuesday he is actively exploring a run for the US presidency in 2016, making the former Florida governor with the famous political last name one of the first major Republicans to formally move toward a possible candidacy.

Bush, 61, who has not held public office since 2007, would have to come to terms with increasingly powerful conservatives in the Republican Party in order to best what is expected to be a crowded Republican field in 2016.

He will also have to gauge whether Americans would support another president named Bush. He is the son of former President George H.W. Bush and the brother of former President George W. Bush. He served as Florida’s governor between 1999 and 2007.

A Bush candidacy could set up a classic clash of two American political dynasties.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton, is a heavy early favorite to be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, creating the possibility of a Bush-Clinton rematch of the 1992 election between Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush, won by Clinton.

In a Facebook posting, Jeb Bush said he will establish a political action committee in January. A top aide said the organization will allow him to engage politically with supporters and potential donors and determine whether sufficient support exists for a run.

A final decision on whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination will come at some point next year after he travels to key states and talks to voters.

“In the coming months, I hope to visit with many of you and have a conversation about restoring the promise of America,” Bush wrote.

Family concerns

Bush has until now shied away from running for president out of respect for family considerations. He appears to have settled any concerns that his wife Columba has about his re-entering the political fray. In his Facebook posting, Bush said he had discussed the country’s future with his family.

“As a result of these conversations and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership I think America needs, I have decided to actively explore the possibility of running for president of the United States,” he said.

Bush’s announcement immediately places him near the top of the likely Republican presidential field, despite resistance from conservatives for his moderate positions on immigration reform and education policy.

Bush has backed legal status, but not full citizenship, for illegal immigrants, and supports a controversial Common Core education plan. He is fluent in Spanish and his wife was born in Mexico.

“Will it be a disqualifier? It depends on how he runs his campaign,” said Katon Dawson, a former Republican Party chairman in the key state of South Carolina. “He has the talent to do that. But he’ll be running against some major competition.”

A late October Reuters/Ipsos poll of voters in the influential state of Iowa showed Bush running fourth behind 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, Wisconsin US Representative Paul Ryan and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Bush was tied with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

In a step that will give Americans a glimpse of how he has governed in the past, Bush is to release in January an electronic book and a trove of e-mails from his time in the Florida governor’s mansion.