I sensed that there was a thread linking Kellyanne Conway, then Mike Lee to the points made by Cruz. They were both very persuasive in talking not about "who" should be the candidate, but "what" the candidate should be.
Cruz hit it out of the park talking about, "if you campaigned against amnesty, show me where you stood up and fought against it"; "If you campaigned against Common Core, show me where you stood up and fought against it"; "If you campaigned against tax and debt increases show me where you stood up and fought". Those were pretty good shots at Bush, Walker, and Romney.
Also, the guy that isn't mentioned is Trump. I thought his speech was a "take no prisoners" solid stand for conservative principles and free markets. If he stays in the hunt he is sure to make debating difficult for the moderates.,p.Lastly, Kellyanne Conway showed some real smarts, too. She could be a key player behind the scene.