Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is pulling out of the presidential race and endorsing former president Donald Trump.
The former candidate cancelled his Sunday media appearances just ahead of the New Hampshire primary, leading some to speculate about the future of his campaign.
Mr DeSantis’ press secretary Bryan Griffin previously said the team cancelled the media appearances due to a “scheduling issue.” The cancellations came days ahead of the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday. Several polls had the Florida governor trailing in third place behind Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. If he received less than 10 per cent of the vote on Tuesday — as recent polls from CNN and Suffolk University showed — he would’ve been ineligible to receive any delegates from the state.
In a video statement, Mr DeSantis said, he decided to run for president “to fight for those who’ve been forgotten in this country.”
Mr DeSantis came in second in the Iowa caucus, leading some political watchers to think that his campaign might succeed to some extent. Mr Trump is still predicted to be the Republican favourite.
“Following our second place finish in Iowa, we’ve prayed and deliberated on the way forward,” Mr DeSantis said. “If there was anything I could do to produce a favourable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it.”
But, he said, “I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign.”