Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race and endorsed former President Donald Trump two days before the New Hampshire primary.
The Florida governor announced his decision to drop out in social media video on X, formally known as Twitter, on Sunday afternoon.
“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it,” DeSantis said in the video. “But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory.”
“Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” he added.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, holds a news conference at Saint Anselm College, on Jan. 19, 2024 in Manchester, New Hampshire. DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign two days later. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
DeSantis also added that he’s had “disagreements” with Trump, but believes that the former president is a better leader than Biden.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis continued. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare this day to attack him.”
The Florida governor also took a chance to criticize former United Nations ambassador and former two-term South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the other remaining major contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge,” the Florida governor continued. “He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican Guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”
“The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology are over.”
Former UN ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, speaks at a rally, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Nashua, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
DeSantis, 45, finished in second place in last week’s Iowa caucuses with 20.1% of the vote, but only narrowly defeating Haley and coming in 30 points behind Trump, who achieved a record-breaking and commanding victory in the low-turnout Hawkeye State contest.
DeSantis’ departure from the race comes after his campaign went “all in” on Iowa, betting that a strong ground game, events, visits to all 99 counties and endorsements from top Iowa Republicans would propel him to a strong showing leading into elections in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
But his distant second place finish – while it slightly exceeded expecations in the final polls – was seen as a major disappointment, considering all the time and resources he spent in Iowa.
DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to former President Donald Trump in the Republican White House race. Multiple polls showed DeSantis leading Trump before jumping into the race, but he faltered out of the gate with a glitch-riddled campaign announcement on Twitter, now known as X.
The governor was backed by the big-spending outside PAC Never Back Down. However, after a series of campaign setbacks over the summer and autumn, and after getting hammered by negative ads, DeSantis saw his support in the polls erode.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on stage during a campaign event in Manchester, N.H., Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The governor’s departure from the race essentially means a head-to-head matchup between Haley and Trump.
