Why DeSantis FINALLY pulled the plug: Florida governor was given internal polling showing him facing a crushing defeat in South Carolina where he had focused all his resources - and told he had no path to the White House

Ron DeSantis was on course to finish a distant third in New Hampshire TuesdayAnd on Saturday he was told that he had no chance of winning in South CarolinaHe quit the race on Sunday afternoon, taking staff and donors by surprise 

Ron DeSantis had given up on New Hampshire, turning his campaign towards the more conservative state of South Carolina.

But on Saturday, he was given internal polling data that showed 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 aides canceled appearances on the Sunday morning shows as they debated what to do next.

And on Sunday afternoon, the Florida governor formally pulled the plug on his 2024 campaign.

‘I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources, if we don’t have a clear path to victory,’ he said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis surprised many by stepping away from New Hampshire to campaign in South Carolina over the weekend. He is seen here carrying his daughter Mamie while his eldest daughter Madison yawns and his son Mason watches ahead of an event in Myrtle Beach

The decision took donors and staff at a super PAC backing DeSantis by surprise.

They were traveling to New Hampshire as part of the last push before voters in the state made their decision.

But his prospects there were bleak.

A poll published Sunday morning found he was on course for just six percent of the vote, behind Trump on 50 percent and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on 39 points.

He was already digesting difficult numbers from South Carolina, where he had hoped to get his campaign back on track and where he campaigned at the 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 were struggling to explain what the path to the nomination would even look like. That’s how bad things were.’

The announcement came hours after Trump had delivered his own South Carolina show of strength.

Standing on stage before thousands of people at an arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump was joined by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster; Pamela Evette, the state’s lieutenant governor; Alan Wilson, the state’s attorney general; South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith; and Curtis Loftis, the state treasurer.

Recent polls showed DeSantis on only five or six percent in New Hampshire, finishing a distant third to former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley

DeSantis posed for selfies with supporters in Myrtle Beach Saturday

They were joined by three U.S. congressmen from the state: Reps. Russell Fry, William Timmons and Joe Wilson.

It was designed to try to knock Haley from the race, demonstrating her lack of support in her own state. It may have also reminded DeSantis of the uphill struggle he faced.

When it came, the decision took DeSantis world by surprise.

‘We had people heading up to New Hampshire as this was happening,’ said a staffer at Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting DeSantis.

With the South Carolina primary not until February 24, he said donors were probably getting anxious about the financial outlay needed to even be competitive.

‘They were probably looking at the prospect of having to pay everybody through South Carolina or let people go,’ he said.

‘That’s still a month away. And so that was probably a big factor.’

DeSantis had once been seen as the next big political star of the Republican Party.

New Hampshire holds its Republican primary on Tuesday, the second contest in the race

DeSantis’ decision leaves Trump opposition to coalesce around Haley, but she faces an uphill battle to rein in the clear Republican frontrunner

He won a crushing reelection as Florida governor in November 2022. But he delayed launching his campaign until May, effectively giving Trump a six-month headstart.

His operation was bedeviled by internal turmoil, and constant headlines about tension between his campaign and Never Back Down.

Senior personnel were reshuffled and staff laid off as he struggled for traction in the polls.

Dan Eberhart, one of his donors, said his biggest problem was going up against Trump.

‘I’m not shocked,’ he said about Sunday’s announcement. ‘I think Trump is a generational figure and normal politicians struggle to get the oxygen to compete against him.’

Eberhart said he heard the news while en route to New Hampshire.

‘He doesn’t want to come in third against Nikki Haley,’ he said. ‘And it’s all about preserving 2028 viability.’

Poll after poll showed that DeSantis was the second choice of many Trump supporters but simply could not lure support away from the former president.

And among attendees at Trump’s Manchester rally on Saturday evening, many said they wished DeSantis had stood aside for Trump.

‘If he would have just 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 goes to show how he’s part of the establishment.’