Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis drops out of 2024 presidential race
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
– Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com/ECoR8YeiMm
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 21, 2024
By Molly Dougherty
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race just two days before the first primary in the nation in New Hampshire. He has endorsed former President Donald Trump.
In the announcement video posted to his social media, DeSantis said “nobody worked harder” in this race. He hoped to bring a “message of hope” to Americans through his candidacy.
DeSantis came in second at the Iowa Caucuses. However, he still garnered significantly less votes than Trump. The former president received 51% of the vote in Iowa with DeSantis receiving 21.2%. Going into New Hampshire, DeSantis polled much lower than Trump and Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. A recent poll conducted by Suffolk University with Boston Globe and NBC-10 showed the current standings for the Tuesday primary. DeSantis polled at 6%, Haley polled at 36%, and Trump polled at 55%.
“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,” DeSantis said in his announcement video.
Prior to this race for the presidency, Trump and DeSantis had a strong partnership. DeSantis endorsed and supported Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. Trump publicly supported DeSantis in his gubernatorial run in 2018 before he even entered the race. With this presidential race, DeSantis sought to distance himself from Trump. He frequently criticized the former president for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his work with Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” DeSantis said in the video.
DeSantis will now turn his attention back to Florida. His term as governor is set to end January 2027.