Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has withdrawn from the 2024 Republican presidential race and endorsed former President Donald Trump two days before the New Hampshire primary.
Florida Governor announces decision to resign on X video on Sunday afternoon.
DeSantis, 45, finished second in last week's Iowa caucuses with 20.1% of the vote, exceeding poll expectations, but narrowly defeated former Ambassador Nikki Haley in a historic and overwhelming victory. The lead was close to 30 points over Mr. Trump. Hawkeye State.
DeSantis' announcement to run comes after his campaign went “all in” in Iowa, with a strong ground campaign, events, visits to all 99 counties, and support from top Iowa Republicans. He was betting that he would do well in the upcoming state elections. Hampshire and South Carolina.
This 2024 Republican candidate was targeted by far more attack ads than any other candidate heading into the primary
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images)
DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear-cut replacement for the former president. donald trump in the Republican White House race. Polls showed DeSantis leading Trump before jumping into the race, but he fell behind after a glitchy campaign announcement on Twitter, now known as X.
The governor was backed by the big-spending outside PAC Never Back Down. But after a series of campaign setbacks and negative advertising over the summer and fall, Mr. DeSantis saw his support in the polls decline.
The governor's withdrawal from the race essentially means a direct showdown between former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump.
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Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
