Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially withdrew from the 2024 presidential race just two days before the New Hampshire primary, acknowledging his inability to secure a clear path to victory. In a video posted on social media, DeSantis expressed his commitment to delivering on all his promises and emphasized that he could not ask his supporters to volunteer time and resources without a viable chance of winning.
Following a second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis reflected on the campaign’s trajectory, stating, “If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome − more campaign stops, more interviews − I would do it.” However, recognizing the lack of a clear path to victory, he made the decision to suspend his campaign.
DeSantis, who lagged far behind former President Donald Trump and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley in New Hampshire, highlighted the evident desire among a majority of Republican voters to give Trump another chance. He pledged his support to Trump, indicating that he signed a pledge to back the Republican nominee. In his endorsement, he criticized the idea of reverting to the “old Republican guard” represented by Haley, describing it as a “repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism.”
The Florida governor’s decision led to the cancellation of a scheduled meet-and-greet with voters in Manchester, New Hampshire. A campaign statement explained that DeSantis would remain in Tallahassee, Florida, following his exit from the race.
Despite narrowly defeating Haley for second place in the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis faced a significant challenge in narrowing Trump’s lead, trailing the former president by 30 points. This outcome raised doubts about whether DeSantis could surpass Trump, especially considering the substantial investment he had made in the state.
Throughout his campaign, DeSantis championed a solidly conservative agenda, proposing initiatives such as deploying troops to the southern border to combat drug cartels, increasing parental oversight in schools, opposing critical race theory, and advocating for economic independence from what he termed the “failed elites.”
Notably, DeSantis had previously declared that he would not serve as Trump’s vice president if offered the position. During the campaign, he criticized Trump on several occasions, accusing the former president of failing to fulfill key promises from his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, such as building a wall along the southern border. Additionally, DeSantis accused Trump of being preoccupied with legal challenges, including four sets of criminal charges and investigations into the Capitol riot on January 6.
Following DeSantis’s exit from the race, Nikki Haley addressed a crowd in Seabrook, New Hampshire, expressing respect for DeSantis and wishing him well. She acknowledged that only one man and one woman remained in the race, alluding to herself and Trump. The campaign landscape shifted with DeSantis’s departure, leaving Trump and Haley as the remaining prominent contenders for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.