The Florida governor came in a distant second place in Iowa after a long, expensive campaign in the Hawkeye State.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has withdrawn his candidacy for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
On Jan. 21, in a four-and-a-half minute video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Florida governor announced he ended his bid for the presidency. The announcement came two days ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
“Following our second-place finish in Iowa, we’ve prayed and deliberated on the way forward. If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome—more campaign stops, more interviews—I would do it. 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,” Mr. DeSantis said in his video message.
“Accordingly, I am now today suspending my campaign.”
In the same announcement, Mr. DeSantis endorsed former President Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner.
“He has my endorsement because we cannot go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear,” Mr. DeSantis said. “A repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”
With Mr. DeSantis’ withdrawal, only former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley stands in the way of President Trump reclaiming the GOP nomination. That would set up a rematch of the 2020 presidential election.
“It’s now one fella and one lady,” Ms. Haley said at a seafood restaurant in Seabrook, N.H., in reaction to news of DeSantis dropping out
.@NikkiHaley on @RonDeSantis dropping: “It’s now one fella and one lady.” pic.twitter.com/4kXKXpXmMp
— Jackson Richman (@jacksonrichman) January 21, 2024
“He ran a great race, he’s been a good governor, and we wish him well,” Ms. Haley told a crowd of supporters at a campaign stop at Brown’s Lobster Pound in Seabrook, New Hampshire, upon hearing the news. “Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady left.
“This comes down to what do you want? Do you want more of the same or do you want something new?”
Just days before, in spite of losing to Mr. DeSantis in Iowa, Ms. Haley declared the competition for the GOP’s nomination a two-horse race.
Mr. DeSantis ended his candidacy with only two days left ahead of New Hampshire’s Jan. 23 presidential primary election.
