Donald Trump will be the Republican presidential candidate. Some rival camps may still stick around, and of course it's also true that the vast majority of delegates to this summer's Republican National Convention have yet to be allocated.

But after this week's Iowa caucuses, in which the 45th president dealt devastating blows to both No. 2, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and No. 3, former Gov. Nikki Haley, there is little doubt. do not have. The Republican Party remains the party of Donald Trump. , and he will be the party's candidate for the third consecutive presidential election. (Related: David Bossie: The primary election is over)

I do not reach that conclusion lightly. Like many others, I am a Floridian who moved to the Sunshine State during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this is due in no small part to Governor DeSantis' outstanding leadership and statesmanship. Thanks to you. I am deeply grateful for his stewardship of our great state, which went from a purple state to a deep red state under his watch.

So this column has been supportive of his presidential aspirations, even as his campaign struggles to gain traction.

However, with the Florida legislative session in full swing, the DeSantis campaign launched a highly publicized grassroots mobilization campaign, visited all 99 Iowa counties for a “Grassley General Election” campaign, and staked everything on their support, resulting in a 30-point crushing defeat in Iowa. As they wrestle, popular Hawkeye State leaders like Bob Vander Plaats and Gov. Kim Reynolds say it's time to face reality.

There is no shame in losing in the primary to a former president who remains highly popular within the party. And there is no dignity in needlessly prolonging the inevitable when there is no viable path to victory. That's the case now with DeSantis. Following Iowa, there is simply no path to victory.

And the longer Mr. DeSantis stays on, the more his already weakened position in Tallahassee weakens, especially given that polls show Mr. DeSantis in a distant third place in both New Hampshire and South Carolina. The damage would be more damaging and less likely to lead Florida into a new dynamic. Parliament.

It's time for Ron to go home. Doing so would not only benefit Republicans as they prepare for a high-stakes race against the incumbent president. It's also in Ron DeSantis' own best interest. DeSantis is a smart guy, and he's a serious leader who may one day become president.

Despite his rhetoric this week, he certainly sees the writing on the wall. No baseball fan likes to see a fallen former All-Star hang up his cleats too late, and no baseball fan likes to see a once-formidable presidential candidate endure a narrow third-place finish time and time again. No political geek either (this poll suggests so) for DeSantis in the Granite and Palmetto states.

Of course Nikki Haley should drop out as well. She will lose New Hampshire, and she will lose badly in her home state in the next primary. But while Haley's own brand of uninspiring corporatist Republicanism may mean an unwelcome return to the Republican Party's forgotten Bush era, her approval ratings are high enough, at least in New Hampshire. , it is no delusion that he will remain in the race until Tuesday's election. Primary there.

The same cannot be said for Mr. DeSantis, who is polling very poorly in New Hampshire. (DeSantis seems to be focusing on South Carolina right now, which hasn't been doing very well in recent sparse polling.)

Haley is the quintessential spiritual “boomercon” (boomer conservative) and principled neocon, who, like the Bourbons of yore, has rejected the Republican Party's post-2016 course correction toward nationalism and realism. I have learned nothing and forgotten nothing.” She made the wrong choice at the wrong time in steering the Republican Party, let alone the United States itself, through this era of rising populism and deglobalization. (Related: Abe Hamade and Brian Reeve: On the brink of chaos, the world needs President Trump more than ever)

Nikki Haley must lose this primary. Most crosstab polls this season show that for those who ideally prefer DeSantis, Trump, not Haley, is the top second choice, including this columnist. If so, DeSantis should strongly consider withdrawing even before Tuesday's New Hampshire primary to maximize Trump's chances of inflicting a campaign-ending landslide loss on Haley. Dew.

There is no honor in denying the undeniable. Donald Trump is scheduled to be the Republican presidential candidate. I look forward to voting for him against Joe Biden. I hope my fellow conservatives will follow suit.

To learn more about Josh Hammer and read features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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