Jeb(!) Bush Endorses Ted Cruz

MIAMI, FL — Ted Cruz has gained some backing out of Florida in his uphill climb to earn the Republican nomination for president.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has announced his endorsement of the Texan, who holds 465 of the necessary 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump continues to hold a strong lead with 739 delegates after Tuesday’s primaries in Arizona and Utah. Bush's backing comes after he suspended his own campaign for the White House in February.

“Ted is a consistent, principled conservative who has demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters and win primary contests,” Bush said in a statement. “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.”

See Also:

• Florida Gov. Rick Scott Endorses Donald Trump … Sort Of
• Florida Primary 2016: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton Win Big; Rubio Out

While Cruz continues to trail Trump, his campaign did gain some momentum Tuesday with a big win in Utah. He took nearly 70 percent of the state’s Republican vote.

Florida’s current governor has also made an endorsement of sorts. Following the March 15 Florida Presidential Preference Primary, Gov. Rick Scott threw his support behind Trump. Stopping short of an outright endorsement, Scott instead urged Republicans “to accept and respect the will of the voters and coalesce behind Donald Trump.”

Whether Cruz will gain the ground needed to overtake Trump in the delegate count remains to be seen. A number of states do, however, still have primaries left to stage. Some of the bigger contests left on the table include New York, California and Pennsylvania.

Image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr