Republican White House hopeful Jeb Bush invited voters to dig through some 300,000 emails from his time as Florida governor, when he spent 30 hours a week answering messages from constituents, staff and other government officials, Time reported.

The son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother of former President George W. Bush said he was posting the emails "in the spirit of transparency," USA Today noted.

"Some are funny; some are serious; some I wrote in frustration," Bush said. "But they're all here, so you can read them and make up your own mind."

The 61-year-old's messages had already been obtained by several news organizations, as well as a Democratic super PAC, through open records requests. Bush made them available through a website, jebemails.com, which also features the first chapter of a book he is writing to explain his role as "eGovernor."

The emails are organized chronologically starting with Bush's first year in office -- when he revealed his email address, jeb@jeb.org, and encouraged people to write to him, Reuters noted. Responding to citizens' notes helped him "stay connected and get first-hand knowledge," the two-term governor claimed.

"On some days when I thought I had been just brilliant, I would open up my email and see a number of comments about just how brilliant I had not been," Bush wrote. "I got a lot of advice -- some of it very helpful, and some that I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out what I had said or done to cause such angst. It was always eye-opening and certainly kept me on my toes."

At a $1,000-per-plate luncheon in Tallahassee, Bush this week is set to raise money and showcase education reforms he started in an effort to build his credentials as he eyes a presidential bid. Winning Florida, which Bush governed from 1999 to 2007, will be crucial to the GOP's hopes of regaining the White House in 2016.

Related