Former Gov. Jeb Bush has added his name to the group of conservatives who’ll speak at CPAC 2013 – a three-day Washington gathering that offers prime exposure to party theoreticians and also presidential candidates.
 
Al Cardenas — a Bush mentor, former Republican Party of Florida chair and current chair of the American Conservative Union, which sponsors CPAC — announced Bush’s participation in the March 14-16 event. It’s the first time Bush has agreed to appear before the group and marks his return — after years of confining his appearances to education reform group — to the partisan political stage.
 
Bush has indicated no interest in running for the presidency. But many Republicans are looking to him to help lead the party out of a dismal 2012 that saw Mitt Romney lose his presidential bid and Democrats keep control of the U.S. Senate. Bush, whose wife is Mexican and who speaks fluent Spanish, is popular among Hispanic voters, who gave Barack Obama 71 percent of their vote.
 
Others scheduled to speak at CPAC include U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a Bush protege who’s widely considered a likely presidential candidate in 2016, as well as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky;  U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who was Romney’s vice-presidential pick; former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who lost in the GOP presidential primaries; and former U.S. Rep. Allen West of Fort Lauderdale.