Ron DeSantis had given up on New Hampshire and focused his campaign on the more conservative state of South Carolina.
But on Saturday he received internal polling showing he had no chance of winning the state and would finish far behind former President Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with discussions.
His assistants canceled appearances on the Sunday morning shows as they debated what to do next.
And on Sunday afternoon, Florida’s governor formally pulled the plug on his 2024 campaign.
“I cannot ask our supporters to voluntarily donate their time and resources if we do not have a clear path to victory,” he said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis surprised many by leaving New Hampshire this weekend to campaign in South Carolina. He is seen here with his daughter Mamie as his eldest daughter Madison yawns and his son Mason looks on at an event in Myrtle Beach.
The decision surprised donors and staff of a super PAC that supported DeSantis.
They traveled to New Hampshire as part of the final push before voters in the state made their decision.
But his prospects there were bleak.
A poll released Sunday morning showed him on pace for just six percent of the vote, behind Trump with 50 percent and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley with 39 points.
He was already crunching tough numbers from South Carolina, where he had hoped to get his campaign back on track and where he campaigned this weekend.
“I think that was the reason for the timing,” said a source familiar with discussions.
A second source close to the DeSantis camp told DailyMail.com: “They struggled to explain what the path to the nomination would even look like. That’s how bad things were.’
The announcement came hours after Trump made his own show of force in South Carolina.
Trump stood on stage in front of thousands of people at an arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, and was joined by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster; Pamela Evette, state lieutenant governor; Alan Wilson, state attorney general; South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith; and Curtis Loftis, the state treasurer.
Recent polls showed DeSantis polling just five or six percent in New Hampshire, finishing a distant third behind former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
DeSantis posed for selfies with supporters in Myrtle Beach on Saturday
They were joined by three U.S. Congressmen from the state: Representatives Russell Fry, William Timmons and Joe Wilson.
It was intended to try to knock Haley out of the race, demonstrating her lack of support in her home state. It may also have reminded DeSantis of the uphill battle he faced.
When it came, the decision surprised the DeSantis world.
“People were going to New Hampshire while this was happening,” said an employee of Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting DeSantis.
With the South Carolina primary not until Feb. 24, he says donors are likely to worry about the financial outlays needed to even be competitive.
“They were probably looking at the prospect of having to pay everyone through South Carolina or letting people go,” he said.
‘That will take another month. And so that was probably a big factor.”
DeSantis was once seen as the Republican Party’s next big political star.
New Hampshire will hold its Republican primary on Tuesday, the second contest in the race
DeSantis’ decision allows Trump’s opposition to coalesce around Haley, but they face an uphill battle to contain the clear Republican frontrunner
He won a landslide re-election as governor of Florida in November 2022. But he delayed the launch of his campaign until May, effectively giving Trump a six-month lead.
His operation was plagued by internal turmoil and constant headlines about tension between his campaign and Never Back Down.
Senior staff was reshuffled and staff fired as he struggled for traction at the polls.
Dan Eberhart, one of his donors, said his biggest problem was fighting Trump.
“I’m not shocked,” he said of Sunday’s announcement. “I think Trump is a generational figure and normal politicians have a hard time getting the oxygen to compete against him.”
Eberhart said he heard the news while driving to New Hampshire.
“He doesn’t want to come in third against Nikki Haley,” he said. “And it’s all about maintaining viability into 2028.”
Poll after poll showed DeSantis as the second choice of many Trump supporters, but simply could not draw support from the former president.
And among those attending the Trump rally in Manchester on Saturday evening, many said they wished DeSantis had stood aside for Trump.
“If he had only waited four years…” said Steven Apfel, 30, who accused DeSantis of disloyalty by challenging Trump.
“He was like the heir apparent and why he did that just shows how much part of the establishment he is.”