Bush is popular among Cubans in Florida (winning 80 percent of the Cuban vote in 2002) and popular among non-Cuban Hispanics (56 percent in 2002, equaling the 56 percent he won statewide). As a longtime supporter of Israel,[30] Bush also maintains a significant connection to Florida's Jewish voters. He was endorsed in his two winning Governor races by a national Jewish publication, and won 44 percent of the state's Jewish vote in the 2002 Governor's race.[31] Many black voters support his focus on public education and parental choice in education, and a number of Black Republican clubs have risen in Florida.[32] In his re-election in 2002, Bush surprised critics by winning the white female vote in the swing-voting battleground of Central Florida's I-4 corridor.[33] Most recently, he has reached out extensively to Florida's Haitian community...
On January 27, 2007, Bush spoke as the keynote speaker at the National Review Institute's Conservative Summit in Washington, D.C. speaking about the Democratic take over in Congress. He told political conservatives "we lost, and there are significant reasons that happened, but it isn't because conservatives were rejected. It's because we rejected the conservative philosophy in this country."[42] He told them “don't…abandon conservative principles…we don't need to be the end all and be all for every special interest group, for every constituent that you like, for every person that's given a fundraising check to your campaign, for everything that is just wrong about public policy and politics”.[43] In attendance at the summit was former chairman of the Republican National Committee Ed Gillespie who said if he, like Bush, “left office with approval ratings above 60 percent…he might be in Des Moines today [preparing for the presidential primary]”.[42] Bush denied rumors that he would run for President in 2008, but “when questioned did not rule out running as a vice presidential candidate.” He joked about being out of work for the first time in his life but said he is happy for the opportunity to “take a pause.”[43]