2024-01-21 21:29:52
The race for the Republican nomination in the US presidential election appears to be over: two days before the primary election in New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump’s fiercest opponent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, gave up and backed former President Donald Trump. “He has my support,” DeSantis said in a video published on X on Sunday afternoon (local time). In it he criticized Trump’s remaining opponent Nikki Haley.
Haley put herself in the service of large companies. “The days of putting Americans last (…) are over,” emphasized DeSantis. In the first primary election on Monday in Iowa, he was only able to maintain second place ahead of Haley with great effort, while Trump won overwhelmingly with an absolute majority of votes. In New Hampshire, the ultra-conservative governor was threatened with a debacle, as everything was heading towards a duel between Trump and Haley. The former governor of South Carolina thought she had a chance of pulling off a surprise victory against the ex-president.
“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.” DeSantis was considered to have no chance in the next primary election in New Hampshire. In the state in the northeast of the USA, voters are significantly less conservative than in Iowa, where DeSantis was able to score points with his ultra-conservative agenda, some of which is still to the right of Trump.
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”.
New Hampshire becomes the stage for a duel between Trump and Haley. The former UN ambassador has recently tried to distance herself from Trump. She hopes to be able to score points in the state so that she can then go into the further primaries strengthened. However, it is questionable whether she will succeed. In polls, Trump was recently an average of 14 percentage points ahead of Haley in New Hampshire. In South Carolina, where the primaries are scheduled for February, Trump’s lead is even greater – even though Haley comes from the southern state and was once governor there.
The decision on the award of the Republican candidacy could actually come earlier this year than usual. The primary elections formally extend into the summer. The candidate is then chosen at a party conference before the actual presidential election campaign begins.
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