There is electoral logic in this, and is why DeSantis should have stuck it out longer.
DeSantis had some of the most experienced folks in Republican politics as consultants and aides. Many of them had been doing this stuff for decades.
They threw in the towel because they had a full understanding of the territory.
What they understood was that either President Trump would be the nominee or someone popular with Trump delegates would replace him if he was not available.
Nikki is hated by Republicans—the longer she runs the worse it gets.
The DeSantis team did the focus group work and understood the facts on the ground.