Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his Republican presidential campaign on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, bringing an end to a White House bid that failed to meet expectations of emerging as a serious challenger to former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis announced his decision in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“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.”
“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.”
“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge,” DeSantis 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.”
The governor entered the 2024 presidential race with significant advantages in his bid to defeat Trump, and early primary polls indicated DeSantis was in a strong position to do just that.
He and his allies amassed a political fortune worth more than $100 million, and he had a strong legislative record on issues important to many conservatives, such as abortion and the teaching of race and gender issues in schools.
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