Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) identified himself as Hispanic in a 2009 voter registration application, according to a Miami-Dade County document published Monday by The New York Times.
“It’s unclear where the paperwork error was made," Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said, according to USA Today. "The governor’s family certainly got a good laugh out of it.” The voter registration document appears to show the circle marked next to "Hispanic."
In a tweet Monday, Bush referred to the mark as a "mistake":
Bush, a likely 2016 GOP presidential contender, was born in Texas and is the son of former President George H.W. Bush.
However, he has touted his background to appeal to Latino voters. Bush's wife, Columba, was born in Mexico. Bush himself lived in Venezuela for a couple of years while working for Texas Commerce Bank. He speaks fluent Spanish, and has busted it out on the campaign trail.
Bush even used his experiences to draw Hispanic voters to his father when the senior Bush ran for the presidential nomination -- and lost -- in 1980.
Exit polls from Jeb Bush's 1998 gubernatorial run showed the possible presidential contender with 61 percent of the Hispanic vote, compared with 38 percent for his Democratic opponent. However, as The Washington Post reported last year, the Hispanic vote has generally shifted to be more Democratic since that time, so Bush's credentials might not give him as large of an edge with Hispanics for 2016.
Maxwell Tani contributed reporting.
This post has been updated with a tweet from Jeb Bush and comment from his spokeswoman.
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