Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his Republican presidential campaign and backed Donald Trump on Sunday, just before the New Hampshire primary, ending a White House bid that failed to meet expectations that he would emerge as a serious challenger to the former president.
“It’s clear to me that the majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” he said in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The nation's first primary election will be held in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
DeSantis ridiculed former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, his longtime closest rival for second place, and said the Republican Party “cannot go back to the Republican guard of the past, a repackaged form of milder corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.” said.
The ambitious governor of a large state enters the 2024 presidential race with a huge advantage in his quest to take on Trump, and early primary polls show DeSantis in a strong position to do so. He and his associates have amassed a political fortune of more than $100 million and boasted a significant legislative record on issues important to many conservatives, such as abortion and teaching race and gender issues in schools.
These advantages will not survive the reality of presidential politics in 2024. From high-profile announcements plagued by technical glitches to constant upheaval with his staff and campaign strategy, DeSantis has struggled to find his footing in the primary. He lost to Trump by 30 percentage points in the Iowa caucuses, where he had pledged to win.
And now DeSantis' political future is in question after he suspended his presidential bid after just one ballot race. The 45-year-old is serving a limited term as Florida governor.
DeSantis was widely expected to be a serious challenger to Trump. Recognizing the threat, Trump fiercely pursued the Florida governor for months. DeSantis' May Announcement In the months that followed, they continued to harass him on the campaign trail, on social media, and in paid ads.
But many of DeSantis' problems may be of his own making.
Buoyed by his 2022 re-election bid in Florida, DeSantis broke with tradition by announcing his presidential campaign for X during a social media site conversation with CEO Elon Musk. Even during the conversation, access to the site failed repeatedly, so I could barely hear the opening speech as a presidential candidate.
In the weeks and months that followed, DeSantis struggled to connect with voters on a personal level under the harsh, bright lights of the presidential stage.
He irritated some New Hampshire Republican officials during his campaign's first visit to New Hampshire by refusing to take questions from voters, as is tradition in the state. And later, he was caught on camera having an uncomfortable interaction with voters in another state.
More serious financial difficulties emerged during the summer.
By the end of July, DeSantis Nearly 40 employees were laid off The move is designed to cut about a third of his campaign salary. The cuts come shortly after public filings revealed he was burning through massive campaign coffers at an unsustainable rate.
Some seeking an alternative to Trump have backed Haley, a former diplomat and South Carolina governor who has become popular among many Republican donors, independent voters and the so-called “Never Trump” crowd.
DeSantis and Haley frequently attacked each other in debates and advertisements, often more directly than they went after Trump.
As internal financial problems grew, DeSantis turned aggressively to allied super PACs to handle basic campaign functions such as organizing campaign events, advertising and extensive door-knocking operations.
Federal law does not allow campaigns to work directly with super PACs. Last December, a nonpartisan government watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission citing the following reasons: Associated Press report And others have argued that the degree of coordination and communication between DeSantis' campaign and the Never Back Down super PAC crossed legal lines.
DeSantis denied any wrongdoing and called the complaints a “farce.”
Still, a steady stream of negative developments leading up to the opening primary contest have undermined confidence in DeSantis' donor network, a key strength and expected to be his supporter at the ballot box. As his poll numbers stalled, DeSantis and his allies rolled back their multi-state strategy and focused virtually all of his resources on Iowa's opening caucus.
After leaving the 2024 presidential race, DeSantis is now refocusing on his second and final term as Florida governor, which ends in January 2027.
Editor's note: This story and headline have been updated to include information about DeSantis' support for Trump and the decline of the DeSantis campaign.
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