Narrowing the GOP field significantly, Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, has called it quits just two days before the New Hampshire primary:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was hailed for much of last year as a rising Republican star, is ending his presidential campaign after he failed to overtake rival Donald Trump in polling or in the early vote of the 2024 race.

DeSantis made his announcement in a four-and-a-half-minute video posted to X on Sunday with less than 48 hours until voting in New Hampshire's primary, the second state in the nominating race.

"We don't have a clear path to victory," he said in the video, which he said was filmed in Florida.

He also did the adult thing and endorsed President Trump:

"It's clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. ... While I've had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of [COVID-19 adviser] Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear," DeSantis said in his video. "I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge."

The exit clears the path to some extent for President Trump to take the nomination. That he's uniting around the winner is a good thing ... because recall how that dynamic made Javier Milei's victory possible in Argentina. When the right united, Milei won in landslide.

Nikki Haley remains in the race, and with no path forward for her, one could argue that she will not stay in the race much longer, either, though with a large war chest, anything is possible. DeSantis spent $200 million on trying to win Iowa for a second-place finish, and Haley campaigned 24/7 through the state for a third-place finish. 

At least to DeSantis, though, the thought occurred to him: Why does he bother?

The polls show Trump firmly in the lead and the Iowa caucus did the same. It seems futile to keep fighting for it at this point, even as Trump faces various kangaroo trials. The trials themselves only make voters empathize with him more and drive his polling higher.

Which points to why voters think he's the best candidate for the job: There is unfinished business to be taken care of here -- rigged elections, political trials, administrative state abuses, and lawlessness everywhere. It doesn't get talked about much, either by pundits or polls but that's what voters are concerned about as they seek to make what was wrong in 2020 right, andd it pretty well amounts to, as Joe Biden says, democracy itself.

That doesn't mean DeSantis doesn't have a blazing bright future, however. As former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle once told me (as a member of the Investor's Business Daily editorial board) on politics -- "Sometimes it's not you, it's just not your year."

That DeSantis has pulled out early leaves him available for the vice presidential spot -- in a one-term presidency, meaning the White House may be nearer than he thinks. I hope that happens myself because I like both candidates. However, even if it's not that, he's certainly in good shape to run on his own in 2028 with no Trump baggage to encumber him. He's campaigned, he has practice now, and he's a good bet to be the favorite, just as Trump is the favorite now. He just need to keep focusing on being an impressive governor who solves problems found to be intractible elsewhere.

In any case, Ron DeSantis was a worthy opponent and ran a campaign he can learn from. He is to be congratulated for recognizing reality and moving out of the way of the rolling Trump train.

Image: Screen shot from Fox News video, via YouTube