INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his fading presidential campaign on Sunday and endorsed Donald Trump just two days before the pivotal
New Hampshire primary, leaving former U.N
deflating loss to Trump in Iowa despite an enormous investment there, caps a stunning fall from grace after DeSantis had been widely seen as
Haley has coveted against Trump, the former president who has maintained an iron grip on the Republican electorate despite facing four
In New Hampshire, about two-thirds of DeSantis backers cite Trump as their second choice, said Andrew Smith, director of the University of
praised the governor and said he was looking forward to working together to defeat President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic
win the New Hampshire primary, and repeated a false claim that registered Democrats were allowed to vote in the Republican primary.Trump
holds a double-digit lead over Haley in New Hampshire, according to polls, and his campaign hopes a second consecutive win will make his
eventual nomination all but inevitable.He also has a commanding lead in South Carolina, which votes on Feb
A Haley loss in her home state - where she served as governor from 2011 to 2017 - would likely doom her campaign.At a campaign event in
said.With time running short, Haley has sharpened her attacks on the frontrunner in the final days before the election, blaming Trump for
Republican electoral losses in 2020 and 2022 and criticizing his praise for authoritarian leaders.ONCE A CONTENDEREarly last year, DeSantis
was considered a top presidential contender and a natural heir to Trump due to his combative style and deeply conservative views
He led several head-to-head polls against Trump.But his support had declined for several months, due to a flawed campaign strategy, his
Republicans have a favorable opinion of Trump, according to most polls
That forced DeSantis to try and appeal to voters who still admired Trump, as well as those who passionately disliked him.DeSantis failed on
He never successfully articulated to most Trump supporters why he was a better option, while Republicans looking to ditch the former
president split their votes among multiple candidates.While many major donors threw their support behind DeSantis early on, they began to
rebel as early as the summer.Several DeSantis allies say the governor waited too long to enter the race, which left him open to blistering
attacks by Trump, who had announced his campaign more than six months earlier.When DeSantis did formally launch his White House run in May
executive competence.The campaign overhired, burning through cash at a rapid rate, and then outsourced much of the traditional work of a
campaign to an outside super PAC, which can accept donations of unlimited size but cannot coordinate with the campaign itself.Source -
