Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has officially announced that he is backing leading Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

The New York Times reported in its online edition that Bush’s endorsement comes a day after the former Massachusetts governor’s overwhelming victory in the Illinois primary on Tuesday. It said that Bush is the latest influential Republican leader to urge the party to rally behind Romney.

The former Florida governor said now is the time for Republicans to unite behind Romney and take their message of fiscal conservatism and job creation to all voters this fall.

The Times quoted an aide to Romney as saying that Bush’s endorsement is expected to encourage several other leading party figures to follow suit and support Romney’s candidacy.