AUSTIN — George P. Bush is proving his famous political family name still can persuade donors to open their checkbooks in a big way.

He raised more than $1.3 million in barely eight weeks since announcing he will run for office in Texas — even though exactly what post he will seek remains unclear.

The grandson of one former president and nephew of another, Bush raked in $1,350,489 in the 39 business days between Nov. 7 and Dec. 31, his campaign manager, Trey Newton, told The Associated Press late Monday.

Bush's first contribution came from his father, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, for $50,000, while his uncle, George W. Bush, also contributed $50,000. In all, there were 449 donations from 29 states, with an average value of a bit more than $3,000.

Some 65 percent of Bush's contributions came from Texas, while donations in Florida accounted for 26 percent. An additional 9 percent came from the rest of the country.

Bush has spent the last several weeks crisscrossing Texas and the country, raising money and meeting with supporters and GOP leaders. A December fundraiser in Washington featured some top attendees with ties to the George W. Bush White House and to longtime Republican kingmaker Karl Rove.

Newton said Bush got $45,000 from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, a Texas GOP mega-donor. He got another $20,000 from Perry's wife, Doylene.

Harold Simmons, a billionaire Texas businessman and heavyweight donor who has given millions to Republicans nationwide, contributed $50,000, while energy mogul Clayton Williams gave $25,000.
Bush's first campaign finance report is due Tuesday, but Newton offered the AP a preview of the completed report before it is submitted.

Bush became the family's latest scion to gravitate toward public office on Nov. 7, when he filed a candidate reporting declaration with the Texas Ethics Commission.

He has not said which office he will seek, but Bush told the AP in an interview Friday that he was leaning toward land commissioner.

Bush also said, however, that he wouldn't announce his final decision until this summer, after the Texas Legislature finishes its session and fellow Republican and Gov. Rick Perry announces whether he will seek another term next year.

Some have speculated that Bush could challenge Perry for governor — and even if he doesn't, what Perry decides will trigger political dominos falling.

Current Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson plans to run for lieutenant governor in 2014, creating a vacancy in his office. But Attorney General Greg Abbott, also a Republican, may himself run for governor next year, meaning his post could be open too.

A 36-year-old attorney from Fort Worth, Bush says he's willing to wait his turn politically rather than immediately seek top positions coveted by other Texas Republicans. Land commissioner can be a stepping stone to higher office; Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst served in the post before winning his current job.

Still, Newton said no statewide officeholders gave Bush money, with no donations coming from Perry, Abbott or others.

Last month, Jeb Bush sent a letter to Florida donors saying his son was considering running for land commissioner in Texas. Newton said Monday that the "bulk of Florida money is because of the governor's efforts."

He added that Bush has been able to raise money nationally because of his work with a number of political action committees that has had him traveling the country for months.

Bush's candidacy has been cheered by Republicans throughout Texas who see him as a way to improve the party's standing among Hispanic voters. Bush is a Spanish-speaker whose mother was born in Mexico.

A Democrat has not won statewide office in Texas since 1994, but Hispanics tend to vote overwhelmingly Democratic and accounted for two-thirds of Texas' population growth over the last decade. Mitt Romney's failure to connect with Latinos is being cited as a reason for his defeat by President Barack Obama, who carried 71 percent of the Hispanic vote nationwide.