Ron DeSantis ends presidential campaign before New Hampshire primary

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was hailed for much of last year as a rising Republican star, is ending his presidential campaign after he failed to overtake rival Donald Trump in polling or in the early vote of the 2024 race.

DeSantis made his announcement in a four-and-a-half-minute video posted to X on Sunday with less than 48 hours until voting in New Hampshire's primary, the second state in the nominating race.

«We don't have a clear path to victory,» he said in the video, which he said was filmed in Florida.

His exit now leaves the primary battle as essentially a one-on-one contest between Trump and Trump's former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who continues to trail Trump in polling and placed a distant third in the Iowa caucuses where DeSantis came in second (with 21%) to Trump's first-place finish with 51%.

According to polls, Haley has her best chance at beating Trump in New Hampshire on Tuesday.

DeSantis on Sunday quickly endorsed Trump, a primary opponent whom he has increasingly criticized on the trail.

«It's clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.… While I've had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of [COVID-19 adviser] Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear,» DeSantis said in his video. «I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge.»

DeSantis begins 2024 as a failed challenger to Trump, but he entered 2023 as the Republican seen as the most likely alternative to win the party's presidential nomination.

After a dominant reelection to the Florida governor's mansion in November 2022, winning by double digits in a famous swing state