Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign stop at Pub 52 on January 15, 2024 in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.
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Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign stop at Pub 52 on January 15, 2024 in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose hardline right-wing policies in his state garnered much public attention and made him an early favorite for the 2024 presidential race, suspended his bid for the Republican nomination on Sunday. In a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gov. DeSantis endorsed the former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination.
“Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden,” DeSantis said in the video announcement, adding, “He [Trump] has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form or warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”
DeSantis’s exit from the Republican presidential nomination field creates a path for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as the only alternative to Trump’s candidacy who is left in the race. Trump and Haley will square off in the New GOP Hampshire primary on Tuesday.
DeSantis came in second place in the Iowa caucuses, according to results from The Associated Press, garnering 21.2% of votes, behind former President Donald Trump, who won 51.0% of the vote. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley placed third, at 19.1%.
There have been real questions about DeSantis’ campaign after his distant second-place finish in Iowa. He pledged to continue and focus on South Carolina, but his campaign and super PAC supporting him, which had spent tens of millions supporting him, has spent nothing on campaign ads since Iowa.
NPR’s Domenico Montanaro contributed to this report.
