Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday dropped his presidential bid, saying it was clear Republican voters were in support of former President Donald Trump.

His move comes just days ahead of the New Hampshire primary.

“I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time, and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory.  Accordingly I am today suspending my campaign,” DeSantis said in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican Primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” he continued. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

– Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com/ECoR8YeiMm

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 21, 2024

As he suspended his campaign, DeSantis threw his support behind the former president, who continues to dominate polls.

“Trump is superior to the current incumbent, that is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge,” DeSantis said.

In addition, the Florida governor took a shot at his rival, Nikki Haley, saying Trump had his endorsement, “because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”

DeSantis’ exits comes just a week after he lodged a second place finish in the Iowa caucuses, a contest he had hoped to win.

DeSantis got about 21% of the vote in Iowa, 30 percentage points behind Trump’s narrow majority and 2 points ahead of Haley’s third-place finish.

The ambitious big-state governor entered the 2024 presidential contest with major advantages in his quest to take on Trump, and early primary polls suggested DeSantis was in a strong position to do just that.

He and his allies amassed a political fortune well in excess of $100 million, and he boasted a significant legislative record on issues important to many conservatives, like abortion and the teaching of race and gender issues in schools.

Such advantages did not survive the reality of presidential politics in 2024.

From a high-profile announcement that was plagued by technical glitches to constant upheavals to his staff and campaign strategy, DeSantis struggled to find his footing in the primary. He lost the Iowa caucuses — which he had vowed to win — by 30 percentage points to Trump.

With DeSantis out, the reace or the GOP nomination now focuses on Trump and Haley.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his campaign following Iowa and appeared in New Hampshire the next day, endorsing Trump.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a harsh Trump critic, also suspended his bid last week. Hutchinson pointedly did not endorse Trump.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.