MANCHESTER, N.H. — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday amid low poll numbers and with no path to overtaking former President Donald Trump.
Mr. DeSantis said he is endorsing Mr. Trump, the prohibitive GOP frontrunner who is poised to win Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire.
“It’s clear to me a majority of primary voters want to give Donald Trump a second chance,” he announced on social media Sunday.
Mr. DeSantis said he quit the race after determining there was no way he could win the nomination.
“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it,” he said in the announcement, made back in his home state of Florida. “But I can’t ask our supporters to donate their time and volunteer their resources if we don’t have a path to victory.”
Mr. DeSantis was on track to place a distant third in New Hampshire, where he is polling at around 6%. He was far behind Mr. Trump who polls show has 50% of likely GOP voter support. Mr. DeSantis’s other opponent, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, was polling at more than 35% in the Granite State.
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Mr. DeSantis placed second in the Iowa caucus last week.
After repeatedly insisting he was staying in the race and hoping for a comeback next month in the South Carolina primary, he abruptly pulled the plug on Sunday. He skipped scheduled appearances on morning talk shows and canceled campaign events before announcing the end of his run.
Mr. DeSantis and his campaign team had hoped to make the contest a two-person race with Mr. Trump, but Ms. Haley showed no sign of dropping out yet, while he has not risen above single digits in South Carolina polls.
His exit from the race and endorsement of Mr. Trump will further solidify support behind the former president. It also helps preserve Mr. DeSantis’ chances for a 2028 run for the White House.
In his exit speech, Mr. DeSantis said he understood Trump supporters believe his first term in office was “stymied by relentless resistance,” and he said that while he has some disagreements with Mr. Trump, particularly over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, “he is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden, that is clear.”
Mr. DeSantis called Ms. Haley, now Mr. Trump’s number-one GOP opponent, “a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism” and part of “the old Republican guard of yesterday.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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