US Presidential Election | Ron DeSantis drops out of Republican presidential race, announces support for Trump

of Florida governor Ron DeSantis withdraws from the US presidential race. DeSantis told the news service on Sunday evening Finnish time in X in the video message he published.

In the video, he says that he will stop his campaign and support the former president in the Republican primary race Donald Trump.

DeSantis, 45, sought the party's presidential nomination in the Republican primary. At the beginning of the week, he finished second in the Iowa caucuses that opened the primaries. DeSantis received about 21 percent of the vote in Iowa, while former President Trump garnered 51 percent of the vote.

“I can't ask my supporters to spend any more time and money if we don't have a clear path to victory. Therefore, I am suspending my campaign today,” DeSantis said in a video message.

According to DeSantis, he has had disagreements with Trump about, among other things, the corona pandemic, but despite that, he thinks Trump is a better option than the current president Joe Biden.

DeSantis' withdrawal leaves Trump's only real challenger as the former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who received 19 percent of the vote in Iowa.

DeSantis emerged in the last couple of years as one of the most popular Republican politicians in the United States. In media speculation, he started to be considered as one of Trump's possible successors.

DeSantis's popularity was at its peak last winter, when his support for the Republican presidential nomination reached more than 30 percent in national polls. However, his popularity never reached Trump's numbers.

DeSantis officially entered the presidential race in May, but the campaign never really took off. In recent weeks, Haley rose alongside DeSantis as Trump's number one challenger in many polls.

Next Tuesday, the primaries continue in the state of New Hampshire, where DeSantis' support was far behind Trump's and Haley's readings in opinion polls.