Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his 2024 presidential bid Sunday, endorsing former President Donald Trump and bringing a quiet end to a campaign that had long been seen as the most viable Republican alternative to the 45th president.

“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,” DeSantis announced in a video address.

“But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time, and donate their resources, if we don’t have a clear path to victory,” the 45-year-old added. “Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign.”

DeSantis said although he has had “disagreements” with Trump, the 77-year-old “is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear.”

The now ex-candidate added he was endorsing Trump because “we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that [GOP rival] Nikki Haley represents.

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“The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology, are over.”

South Carolina state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, who was the first elected official to back DeSantis in Haley’s home state, immediately threw his weight behind Trump as well following DeSantis’ announcement.

Speculation about DeSantis ending his campaign was fueled by his single-digit polling numbers in New Hampshire and his super PAC Never Back Down cancelling events ahead of Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation primary.

As recently as Friday, DeSantis maintained he would continue on in the race until he didn’t see a “path forward,” telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt he “100%” had the resources to campaign through the end of March, by which point most states will have held their Republican primaries and caucuses.

Trump and Haley had already acted as if DeSantis was out of the race before Sunday, with both candidates barely mentioning the Florida governor on the Granite State stump in recent days.

Coming off a landslide re-election victory in 2022, DeSantis was widely seen as the likeliest Republican to move the party beyond Trump, even after the former president announced his 2024 candidacy following the GOP’s disappointing midterm performance.

However, a glitch-filled campaign launch this past May on Twitter Spaces — during which audio problems and other technical difficulties prevented the online audience from hearing much of what DeSantis had to say — foreshadowed larger problems with his effort.

Despite having the most financial backing between campaign and super PAC support, the DeSantis camp struggled with staffing and messaging strategies. 

The governor’s campaign underwent multiple messaging “resets” — including the departure of DeSantis’ first campaign manager, Generra Peck, in August — laid off a significant portion of their staff and were late to start attacking Trump.

Meanwhile, DeSantis slumped in the polls as Republicans voters rallied around Trump as he was hit with four criminal indictments throughout 2023, leading the governor to complain last month that the former president’s legal issues had “distorted” the GOP primary.

After coming in second — nearly 30 points behind Trump — in the Jan. 15 caucus, DeSantis claimed he had “punched” his “ticket” out of Iowa and would continue on to New Hampshire and South Carolina. 789

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With DeSantis averaging just 6.3% support in New Hampshire, his team tried to claim that he could overtake Haley in the Palmetto State, despite polls there showing him a distant third behind her and Trump.