Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has endorsed Donald Trump and withdrew from the 2024 presidential contest.
In New Hampshire, where he was polling in the single digits, he announced his resignation prior to the Republican primary election.
Though he had previously been seen as a formidable opponent for the party’s nomination, Mr. DeSantis declared on Sunday that he did not “have a clear path to victory”.
The final contender for Mr. Trump, Nikki Haley, declared that she was the “only one” capable of defeating US President Joe Biden.
Tuesday’s contest in New Hampshire between Ms. Haley and Mr. Trump is the second in a series of state-by-state races to select the Republican nominee for the general election in November.
in a video that was posted on Sunday afternoon on X, previously Twitter, Mr. DeSantis claimed that his campaign had “left it all out on the field” and lasted close to five minutes.
As he concluded his seven-month campaign, he said, “If there was anything I could do to produce a favourable outcome – more campaign stops, more interviews – I would do it.”
The governor of Florida announced that he was supporting Mr. Trump, who has emerged as the overwhelming favorite following his 51% victory in the first contest in Iowa. It’s evident, according to Mr. DeSantis, that most Republican voters “want to give Donald Trump another chance.”
Despite stating that Mr. Trump was “superior” than Mr. Biden—who is almost guaranteed to be the Democratic nominee in November’s general election—he acknowledged having “disagreements” with the former president.
“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honour that pledge,” said Mr. DeSantis.
When Mr. Trump announced Mr. DeSantis’s withdrawal and endorsement to a packed group of supporters on Sunday afternoon in New Hampshire, there were thunderous applause.
Subsequently, during a rally speech, Mr. Trump called his previous rival a “really terrific person” and continued, “He ran a really good campaign, it’s not easy.”
In his campaign, Mr. DeSantis positioned himself as the Republican who could carry out Mr. Trump’s populist policies without the baggage or controversy.
The Trump team denounced Mr. DeSantis as “the candidate of the globalists and Democrats who will do everything to stop the America First movement” and urged all Republicans to support Mr. Trump in the wake of his decision.
Ms. Haley was also singled out by Mr. DeSantis, who described her as a part of “the old Republican guard of yesteryear – a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism”.
In response, Ms. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, insisted that she was the “only one”—a conservative candidate—who could defeat Mr. Biden.
“In this race, there are two contenders,” she said to CNN while in New Hampshire. “That’s what we wanted all along, and we’re going to keep going.”
Mr. DeSantis edged out Ms. Haley in the Iowa Caucuses held last week.