Jeb Bush tells reporter 'no question' he is more experienced than Marco Rubio

PELLA, Iowa, June 17 (UPI) -- Presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Wednesday compared himself to fellow politician and Floridian Marco Rubio in an interview with ABC News, and he said there really is no comparison.

Bush, who announced his candidacy Monday, was campaigning in Iowa Wednesday -- where he told ABC News that he is better suited to lead the United States than Sen. Rubio.

"There's no question of that at all," he said. "And that's not disparaging my good friend, who I think is a real talent."

His interview with ABC News was his first as an official 2016 contender.

"I think I am more experienced and qualified than anybody running," the former Florida governor added. "I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think that I have the skills to fix these things and to lead our country."

Rubio, the first-term senator from Florida, has long had a good relationship with Bush and was even once viewed as a "Bush protoge." Now, though, they are vying for the same post -- one that, as was evidenced in the 2000 election, depends heavily on votes from the state of Florida.

Both Bush and Rubio are seen as leading candidates for the 2016 Republican nomination. Several other prominent members of the party have also declared their campaigns.

One poll, released Wednesday, shows Rubio running even with or better than both Bush and Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton in three swing states, Bloomberg reported.

Analysts have noted that Republican and Democratic candidates will undoubtedly take aim at the youth and inexperience of Sen. Rubio, who has been in Congress since 2011. Earlier this year, he was also named the biggest "no-show" in the Senate.