Republicans are set to win big in Tuesday's midterm elections but one influential Republican is telling his party not to mistake victory for approval.
"The looming victories for Republican candidates next Tuesday is not a validation of the Republican Party at all," former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) said in an interview with The New York Times.
Big wins would reflect "a repudiation of the massive overreach" by the Democrats and "disgust by the political class," he said.
"It could create a middle ground," the former governor told The Times. "Or it could create a dismemberment of our political parties."
That middle ground may be elusive if some Republican leaders have their way.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told National Journal last week that the primary Republican goal is to make sure President Barack Obama only serves one term.
"The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president," McConnell said.
But former Gov. Jeb Bush disagrees. He says Republicans must be clear that improving the economy and unemployment is their highest priority.
"In particular, he advised Republicans to seek common ground with Mr. Obama and Democrats on trade and energy policy," The Times reported.
Bush believes it's possible that an independent candidate may have the best chance at a presidential win since Ross Perot's 1992 campaign.
"We should maybe try to reset the political climate in Washington" just as Obama had "hit the reset button" on foreign relations, Bush said.
Correction: The original version of this article reported that Bush wanted Obama to "hit the reset button" on foreign policy when, in fact, Bush said Obama had already "hit the reset button."
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