Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida who dropped out of the Republican Primary following a poor showing in South Carolina on Feb. 20, is returning to the scene once again. This time, however, it's to support Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
In his endorsement, Bush called Cruz a "consistent, principled conservative who has demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters and win primary contests."
"Washington is broken, and the only way Republicans can hope to win back the White House and put our nation on a better path is to support a nominee who can articulate how conservative policies will help people rise up and reach their full potential," Bush said.
However more than anything else, the endorsement comes as a counter to Donald Trump, who remains the frontrunner in the once-crowded Republican primary pool. In his statement, Bush referred to Trump by name, saying that it has become imperative to overcome Trump's "divisiveness and vulgarity," or else the party will certainly lose to the Democratic nominee.
"For the sake of our party and country, we must move to overcome the divisiveness and vulgarity Donald Trump has brought into the political arena, or we will certainly lose our chance to defeat the Democratic nominee and reverse President Obama's failed policies," he added.
Bush's endorsement is huge for Cruz, not just because of the endorsement in of itself, but rather what it represents: support from one of the party's most influential families. Cruz has yet to truly receive backing from the party as a whole, even as the pool winds down to include only three candidates: Trump, Cruz and Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio).
The party was quick to throw its support behind Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), but he has since dropped out, leaving them with only Cruz and Kasich as their only two possible candidates. This also has led to Cruz's inability to get widespread support among the establishment: so long as Kasich continues in the running, anti-Trump support will remain divided between the two candidates.
Cruz remains in second place and could conceivably win enough Republican delegates to take the nomination, but he will need the full support of anti-Trump voters to solidify those chances.
