The 2016 Election Could Be a Popularity Contest Between Two Introverts

Introverted presidential candidates tend to be passionate and policy-driven, but also struggle with being awkward and prone to needing to redefine themselves.

CHICAGO, IL - FEBRUARY 18: Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush speaks to guests at a luncheon hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on February 18, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. Bush delivered his first major foreign policy speech at the event as he continues to test the waters for a potential run for president in 2016.
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty Images

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By Arit John

March 12, 2015 at 9:50 AM UTC

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In January, Jeb Bush told a crowd of auto dealers in San Francisco that one thing most people don’t know about him is that he’s an introvert. “Introverts, actually, they’re grinders,” he said. “They identify a problem, by and large, and then they overcome it.”

Adam C. Smith, the politics editor at the Tampa Bay Times, said in an interview that Floridians used different words to describe Bush’s temperament. “I think arrogant is a word a lot of people in Florida have used for Jeb,” Smith said. “Aloof, arrogant, my-way-or-the-highway was often how Jeb was perceived, even by people that admired him.”