Free Republic

Ron DeSantis had given up on New Hampshire, turning his campaign towards the more conservative state of South Carolina. But on Saturday, he was given internal polling data that showed he had no chance of winning the state and would finish far behind former President Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with discussions. His aides canceled appearances on the Sunday morning shows as they debated what to do next. And on Sunday afternoon, the Florida governor formally pulled the plug on his 2024 campaign. 'I can't ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources, if we...

The Governor is backing the former President after all. Ron DeSantis is out of the presidential race and is endorsing Donald Trump. In a video released Sunday, the Republican candidate suspended his campaign, after a distant second place finish in Iowa, an expected even more distant third place in the Granite State, and an uncertain path for delegates ahead. “Now, following our second place finish in Iowa, we’ve 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. But I can’t ask...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' gamble to take his presidential campaign to rival Nikki Haley's turf ended up with him shouting down a fourth grade teacher over the former governor's record on education Saturday evening. 'I've been asking crowds what her big achievements were as governor here?' Fourth grade teacher Regina Wasiluk had heard that DeSantis had asked the same question at his earlier event Saturday in Myrtle Beach and came armed with information about how Haley had increased education standards in the state. As they bickered back and forth, DeSantis said, 'I'm talking about big conservative achievements. That's what the...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has suspended his 2024 presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump. DeSantis announced in a video posted to social media ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. The governor quoted Winston Churchill, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that count.” “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com/ECoR8YeiMm — Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 21, 2024 Bloomberg had reported just minutes before that he would drop out and endorse Trump in the coming days. The report cited...

Video of his exit declaration

Salem, New Hampshire—The top echelon of the DeSantis campaign has begun having frank conversations with donors about whether the Florida governor should remain in the race, National Review has learned. In recent days people close to the governor have begun making calls to top donors laying out what the campaign sees as their options at this point, which include possibly dropping out of the race in the coming days. The campaign continues to tell reporters that their candidate will stay in the race through South Carolina, force rival and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to drop out should she...

Iowa was supposed to be make-or-break for Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor essentially moved his campaign there late last year, and Never Back Down, his allied super PAC, spent tens of millions of dollars knocking on doors in the state. “We’re going to win Iowa,” DeSantis declared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Dec. 2. But in the week before the all-important caucuses, Scott Wagner, the recently installed head of the super PAC, was doing something that aides found puzzling: He was literally doing a puzzle. In the headquarters of Never Back Down in West Des Moines, Iowa, Wagner was,...