CAMPAIGN NOTEBOOK: Voting Day in New Hampshire After DeSantis Endorses Trump

***Welcome to the CBN News Campaign Notebook for the latest updates on the 2024 presidential election***

January 23

It’s voting day in New Hampshire, with Republicans headed to the polls to cast their primary ballots. The contest is a two-person race between former President Donald Trump and his former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. 

All six of the registered voters in tiny Dixville Notch cast their votes for Haley after midnight, but Trump could still be on track for a victory in the Granite State. He holds a commanding lead over her in state polls. The latest surveys show Trump widened his lead after endorsements from Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Tim Scott.

The contest comes after Trump won the Iowa caucus by 30 points last week.

January 21

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended his Republican presidential campaign on Sunday, making the surprise announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He said he doesn’t see a clear path to victory. “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” he said. 

DeSantis said Trump “has my endorsement” and he explained why he’s not supporting former Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in his video announcement below.

“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

DeSantis had scored a distant second place in the Iowa caucuses as Trump dominates the GOP race. His unexpected pullout comes on the eve of the New Hampshire primary which will now be a showdown between Trump and Haley.

CBN News Chief Political Analyst David Brody says the handwriting was on the wall back when he interviewed DeSantis in December:

JUST IN: Ron DeSantis tells me his one regret about running in the GOP Primary this year:

Ron DeSantis: “I would say if I could have one thing change, I wish Trump hadn’t been indicted on any of this stuff…it distorted the primary…it also just crowded out, I think so much… pic.twitter.com/zrADFUmiDq

— David Brody (@DBrodyReports) December 21, 2023

DeSantis will focus instead on completing his second and final term as Florida governor, which ends in 2027.

***Recent reports from the CBN News 2024 Campaign Notebook***

January 19

The New Hampshire primary is now just days away. Trump has had a consistent lead in polls with Haley appearing to be in the strongest position among his rivals.

In Iowa, Haley performed best in the state’s more Democratic-friendly areas, and she’s expected to perform well in the more moderate to left-leaning New Hampshire. With that in mind, DeSantis was said to be focusing his effort on South Carolina instead.

Meanwhile, the abortion issue is expected to play a significant role in the presidential race once again. On Friday, pro-lifers from around the country gathered in Washington, D.C., despite severe winter weather, for the annual March for Life. CBN News provided live coverage of the event here at CBNNews.com.

Live coverage of the 51st annual March for Life, from Washington, D.C., begins at 12 Noon ET on Friday, January 19. Watch on CBN News YouTube, on app, and on the CBN News Channel. https://t.co/AJBNWfEOwy pic.twitter.com/VBpKnkQytL

— CBN News (@CBNNews) January 17, 2024

January 18

Trump was in court on Wednesday facing one of his legal battles, a defamation trial in New York. That led him to be more than two hours late for a campaign rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire ahead of next Tuesday’s GOP primary in that state.

Haley is focusing her energy on New Hampshire at the moment, vowing, “I can safely say tonight, I will make this Republican primary a two-person race.”

The New York Times reports DeSantis has begun laying off super PAC employees after squeaking out a second-place finish in Iowa. 

After New Hampshire, the Republican primary shifts to Nevada and South Carolina over the coming weeks before moving into the rest of the country this spring.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is running unopposed for the Democrat Party’s nomination, but he’s already campaigning against his eventual GOP rival. Biden is scheduled to campaign in the North Carolina capital of Raleigh on Thursday afternoon.

January 16

The 2024 presidential campaign officially kicked off on January 15 with the Iowa caucus in which former President Donald Trump bested his two top rivals, Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Amb. Nikki Haley.

After the contest, the fourth-place finisher businessman Vivek Ramaswamy exited the race and endorsed Trump.