A surprising turn of events unfolded somewhat quietly on January 21st, as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he was dropping out of the race for the 2024 GOP Presidential Nomination. In a video posted to Twitter/X, DeSantis said that he and Trump don’t always see eye to eye, especially politically. Still, he believes Trump will be a better choice than Haley as President and certainly much better than another four years of Biden.
In the video, he described how he and his family “prayed and deliberated on the way forward. If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome — more campaign stops, more interviews — I would do it. It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”
DeSantis now joins other members of the GOP in backing Trump’s nomination. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was early to hop on the Trump train and wasted no time in praising DeSantis’ decision on Twitter. “Good on @RonDeSantis for allowing us to unify. Your turn, @NikkiHaley. The @GOP must unite around @realDonaldTrump to defeat Joe Biden.”
Haley essentially has little choice but to win in New Hampshire on January 23rd, especially as she hadn’t planned on competing in the Nevada primary, which guarantees a Trump win there. Getting through NH won’t be easy, though, as Haley’s only major voice there, Gov. Chris Sununu, has kept the “success” bar for Haley by simply taking second to Trump.
DeSantis ran a good campaign, but dropping out now means he can focus on making Florida his top priority again. Ever since he announced he would be running, the Governor hasn’t been seen much in Florida. Instead, he has been everywhere else. With his term over in 2026 and unable to run again, the focus will soon enough shift to what’s next.
