Jeb Bush: 'I will run to win'

Jeb Bush jumped headlong into the US presidential race Monday, insisting "America deserves better" after eight years of Barack Obama, as the Republican seeks to win over voters skeptical of his political pedigree.

Following a six-month pre-candidacy exploration, Bush made his formal announcement at Miami Dade College, a diverse university chosen to signal that he aims to run an inclusive 2016 campaign.

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"I have decided. I am a candidate for president of the United States," he said.

While he is the son and brother of two former presidents, Bush highlighted his own political vision and his two terms as governor of Florida.

"We made Florida number one in job creation and number one in small business creation," Bush said, boasting that he slashed taxes by $19 billion.

"I know we can fix this. Because I've done it."

Bush also stressed he would campaign everywhere and face the issues, rather than rely on his record from a decade ago and his family name as he seeks the nomination now sought by 11 Republicans.

"It's nobody's turn. It's everybody's test -- and it's wide open," he said.

"I will take nothing and no one for granted. I will run with heart. I will run to win."

Bush, 62, has been running a de facto campaign for months, raising millions of dollars and boosting his international profile with a trip last week to Europe.

Hillary Clinton is the frontrunner on the Democratic side, with no current close competition.

Nationally, Bush is bunched at the top of most Republican polls, but he is not the dominant figure many had expected. He finished a dispiriting seventh last month in an Iowa poll, but dismisses his struggles to break free of the pack.

He waded into a quagmire last month when he repeatedly stumbled over whether he would have authorized an invasion of Iraq.

The hiccups highlighted what will likely be one of the candidate's main challenges: overcoming the legacy of his brother George W Bush, his unpopular Iraq policy and a second term that ended economic turmoil.