“If there was anything I could do to produce a favourable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it, but 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 the message.

“Winston Churchill once remarked that success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. While this campaign has ended, the mission continues down here in Florida. We will continue to show the country how to lead,” he added.

DeSantis also endorsed Donald Trump, stating that despite his ‘disagreements’, the majority of Republican primary voters want to give him another chance. “I am proud to have delivered on 100% of my promises and I will not stop now. It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance…While I have had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden. That is clear,” he said.

“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honour that pledge. He has my endorsement, because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear or repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” he further said.