You’re Jeb Bush. Your campaign isn’t going as well as you expected. While the Trump phenomenon is easily dealt with in the long run, and prevents the Reagan Coalition vote from coalescing behind a more plausible Reactionary candidate, there is no denying that Trump’s fireworks are making you look dull as dishwater. Worse, the polls are showing that the combination of Reagan Coalition candidates is substantially ahead of the combination of Romney Coalition candidates, and Rubio is almost even with you, so you can’t even count on a victory in your subprimary at this point. What do you do?
Your principal advantages are establishment connections and, above all, money. Lots and lots of money. What can you do with it to turn things around?
While the campaign calendar does not work in your favor, your fundraising gives you the luxury of surviving a string of early defeats. The answer to the question, then, is to prepare for a lengthy war of attrition. Pour money into ground operations in states with later primaries and caucuses. Run plenty of anti-Rubio commercials with the 3 AM phone call theme in an effort to win your subprimary ASAP. Do not give in to the temptation to waste your money on anti-Trump commercials, because, even if they are a success, his voters will probably prefer Walker or Cruz to you. Leave Trump to the mercy of the other Reagan Coalition candidates and your friends in the Republican media establishment.