DeSantis announces withdrawal, Haley and Trump face off
The second stop of the US Republican presidential primary, New Hampshire, will be held on January 23. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his withdrawal earlier and endorsed former US President Donald Trump. Currently, the Republican nomination battle has almost become a one-on-one showdown between former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Trump. The results of the New Hampshire primary have also become the focus of attention from all parties.
Haley said to voters in New Hampshire on the 19th: “I don’t want to be anyone’s vice president, that’s impossible. I don’t want to be vice president.”
DeSantis announced his withdrawal today (22nd) on social media platform X and supported Trump for the top spot. Although he attacked Trump throughout the campaign, he now changed his tone and said: “Trump is better than the current president Biden, this is obvious.” A senior adviser said that in the past day, Trump and his team have been preparing for DeSantis’ withdrawal. Trump said he was “very honored” to receive DeSantis’ support.
DeSantis is a former naval officer and was elected governor of Florida in 2018 with Trump’s support. But since then, DeSantis has often kept his distance from Trump.
Trump won the Iowa primary with 51% of the vote earlier, and Haley only 19.1%. According to a CNN poll released on the 21st, Trump received 50% support among Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, while Haley’s support rate was 39%. DeSantis’ support rate was only 6%, lower than the 10% minimum support rate required by the Republican Party to win.
After DeSantis withdrew, the Republican primary formed a “Trump vs. Haley” showdown, and the vote source of DeSantis supporters was watched. According to an analysis of various polls by the US polling website 538, if DeSantis withdraws, 48% of DeSantis supporters will switch to Trump and 27% will switch to Haley.
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