Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Sunday January 21 that he was withdrawing from the race for the Republican nomination, and that he would support Donald Trump in the November presidential election. “I am suspending my campaign today,” he said in a video published on X. “It is clear to me that the majority of Republican voters in the primary want to give Donald Trump another chance.” In a primary where the former president is the ultra-favorite, Ron DeSantis was a contender for second place with Nikki Hailey, former elected official from South Carolina.
Ron DeSantis, with hardline stances on immigration and abortion, came in second in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, far behind Donald Trump, with 21% of the vote to the former president’s 51%. “I can’t ask our volunteers to donate their time and money if we don’t have a clear path to victory,” he justified in his video. “I have had disagreements with Donald Trump, like on the coronavirus pandemic,” but “Trump is better than the current incumbent, Joe Biden,” the 45-year-old added. His announcement comes two days before the primaries in the American state of New Hampshire.
Despite a highly publicized campaign debut and favorable early polls, technical problems and constant upheavals in his team and campaign strategy hampered his run for the Republican nomination. Now, Mr. DeSantis’ political future is in question after his one-vote withdrawal, although he remains governor of Florida.