• Former President George W. Bush will headline fundraising events for a handful of Republicans this week and next week, ahead of the November midterm elections.
• Bush is set to boost House and Senate candidates running in Texas, North Dakota, and Florida. The 43rd president’s latter appearance will be in support of Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for a Senate seat in the Sunshine State.
• The moves follow those of former President Barack Obama, who began campaigning for Democrats, and publicly rebuking President Donald Trump for the first time in earnest last week.
• Unlike, Obama, who is holding full-scale campaign rallies for some party candidates, events featuring Bush will be invitation-only.

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Former President George W. Bush is set to headline some fundraising events for Republican candidates ahead of the November midterm elections.

Bush will hold closed-door fundraisers in Texas and Florida this week and next week in support of House and Senate candidates,Politico reported Tuesday. Republicans are looking to the 43rd president to help bolster candidates in key races, and help the party hold on to its majorities in Congress.

Bush follows former President Barack Obama, who began campaigning for Democratic Party candidates, and publicly rebuking President Donald Trump, for the first time in earnest last week.

Bush has only been quietly critical of Trump, and has never called him out by name, but in an October 2017 speech, he took a veiled shot at Trump saying, “we’ve seen nationalism distorted into nativism,” and the “return to isolation sentiments and forgetting that American security is directly threatened by the chaos and despair of distant places.”

The comments were a reference to the Trump administration’s push away from longtime allies and norms in favour of what observers have called an isolationist agenda.

On Friday, Bush is scheduled to host a fundraiser for Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for a Senate seat there.

Trump endorsed Scott in the primary, but Scott has been distancing himself from Trump in recent days, CNN reported on Tuesday, as turmoil surrounds the current administration and the president’s job-approval rating sinks to new lows.

Trump has backed the Republican candidate vying to take Scott’s keys to the Florida governor’s mansion.

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