Ron DeSantis has dropped out of the Republican primary in a taped video, avoiding a potentially embarrassing loss in New Hampshire.
In the video, the Florida governor admitted he has “no clear path to victory.”
He also endorsed rival Donald Trump, who he called a “superior” choice to President Joe Biden.
“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honour that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear,” he said.
DeSantis, 45, finished at a distant second in the Iowa caucus with 21 percent of the vote, compared to Trump’s 51 percent. A recent CNN polls showed him at a dismal 6 percent in New Hampshire, far behind former UN ambassador Nikki Haley’s 39 percent and Trump’s 50 percent.
READ MORE: ‘Unlikeable’ DeSantis’ campaign is ‘kaput’ after Iowa result, expert says
“The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of catering to woke ideology are over,” he added.
A Republican researcher told Daily Express US that DeSantis has “revealed himself to be an ineffective and unlikeable politician outside of his home state.”
“DeSantis’ finish in Iowa was ‘close’ only in the sense that he was nearly beaten by Nikki Haley despite wagering his entire campaign on a convincing showing — and of the early elections, this was the state where he was most likely to be competitive,” said Geoff Kabaservice, research director at Republican Main Street Partnership.
