US presidential race: Ron DeSantis ended his White House bid on Sunday two days before the New Hampshire primary, leaving Nikki Haley as the sole challenger to former US president Donald Trump for the Republicans' nomination. "It's clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance," DeSantis said in a video posted to X, extending his support to Trump. "He has my endorsement because we can't go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear: a re-packaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents," the Florida governor added.
The development leaves Haley, who is the former US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, as the last Republican in the race in attempt to deny Trump the nomination. The winner of this year’s Republican nominating contests will confront Joe Biden, the likely Democratic nominee, in the general election in November 2024.
"For now, I’ll leave you with this: May the best woman win," Haley said.
Haley has one advantage that Republican donors now have only a single candidate to support if they want to try and stop Trump.
In New Hampshire, most of DeSantis supporters, about two-thirds of them, cited Trump as their second choice, said Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.
Vivek Ramaswamy drops out too
Earlier this month, Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the presidential race and extended support to Trump for the elections.
After a big win at the Iowa caucuses, former US President Donald Trump held a rally in Atkinson, New Hampshire with his former GOP rival Vivek Ramaswamy and thanked the Indian-American entrepreneur for endorsing him for the upcoming presidential runoff. Trump was all praises for Ramaswamy at the event after the latter withdrew from the race and hinted at working with him in the future.
"There is not a better choice left in this race than this man right here. And that is why I am asking you to do the right thing as New Hampshire and to vote for Donald Trump as your next president," Ramaswamy said in his address in New Hampshire alongside Trump. The ex-US President also thanked Ramaswamy for his endorsement and said that the Indian American leader would be working with him for a 'long time'.
(With Reuters inputs)
