As expected Republican contender Ted Cruz easily rolled in Utah on Tuesday, besting front-runner Donald Trump in Mormon territory. The establishment desperately needed a resounding win to hang their hat on and the Cruz campaign benefited immensely from the backing of failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney as well as the barnstorming of radio host Glenn Beck who riled up voters by invoking the Mormon “white horse prophecy”. More importantly Cruz bagged the entire 40 delegates or more accurately kept them from Trump as the drive to deprive the Donald of the necessary 1,237 before this summer’s brokered convention continues. But the real prize for Team Cruz was the endorsement of the Bush crime family as delivered by Jeb! – a nod that will go a long way towards burnishing the Texas senator’s new establishment friendly credentials.

As reported by CNN “Jeb Bush backs Ted Cruz for president”:

Jeb Bush endorsed Ted Cruz on Wednesday morning, calling his former rival for the Republican presidential nomination a “principled conservative” and urging fellow Republicans to reject Donald Trump as the next GOP nominee.

“Ted is a consistent, principled conservative who has demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters and win primary contests,” Bush said in a statement provided to CNN. “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’s endorsement of the Texas senator comes one month after he ended his own bid for the GOP presidential nomination — a campaign that failed to gain support in the shadow of Trump’s oversized personality and a fractured field that, at one time, had 17 Republican candidates actively pursuing the White House. During the campaign, Bush did not cloak his contempt for Trump, who he described as a “bully” and “not a conservative.”

On Wednesday, Bush again emphasized his disapproval of Trump, the GOP front-runner, and warned that if the New York businessman secures the Republican nomination, Democrats will win the White House in November.

“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,” Bush said in the statement.

The Bush family blessing has been coming, former savings and loan bandit Neil Bush had recently joined Cruz’s campaign finance team and the senator has an extensive history with the American political dynasty. The Bush announcement rubs a bit of rock salt into the still festering wounds of former Jeb! protégé Marco Rubio but revenge is a dish best served cold. The announcement was timed to start today’s news cycle and build on the momentum of Cruz’s big wins (he also took Idaho) while downplaying Trump’s big score of all of Arizona’s delegates. The Bush endorsement also is a signal for the big donors to open their checkbooks to fund an onslaught of anti-Trump propaganda.