US Republican
DeSantis drops out of US presidential race and supports Trump
Ron DeSantis, Republican Governor of Florida
© EPA
The Republican field of candidates for the US presidency is shrinking faster than expected. Even before the second Republican primary, Ron DeSantis is throwing in the towel.
The ultra-conservative US politician Ron DeSantis is withdrawing from the Republican internal party race to run for the US presidential election. Florida’s governor announced this on Sunday afternoon (local time) in a video published on the X platform, formerly Twitter. “I cannot ask our supporters for their time and donations when there is no clear path for us to victory,” DeSantis said. “That’s why I’m ending my campaign today.”
In the Republicans’ first preliminary decision in the US state of Iowa, DeSantis was around 30 percentage points behind the favorite and Donald Trump and came in second place just ahead of the Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley. Two days before the Republican primary in New Hampshire, DeSantis threw his support behind the former president. “He has my support because we cannot go back to the old Republican guard,” DeSantis said. This also includes Nikki Haley. Over the weekend, they intensified their verbal attacks on Trump and questioned the 77-year-old’s mental state and his suitability for another term as president.
Positioned as a staunchly right-wing doer
During his candidacy, the 45-year-old DeSantis strategically positioned himself as a staunchly right-wing doer. After a successful re-election as governor of Florida in November 2022, it looked for a few months as if he might challenge Trump’s candidacy. But DeSantis also had a reputation for being wooden in his personal dealings with voters. His election campaign was also marked by appearances in TV debates that opponents described as “robotic”.
Anyone who wants to become the Republican candidate must first win internal party votes in the individual states. Everything currently indicates that the presidential election in November will see a new edition of the election campaign between Trump and the Democratic incumbent Joe Biden.