Ron DeSantis ended his presidential bid, a crushing defeat for a figure who once represented the strongest hope for Republicans wanting to move past Donald Trump but one who misread the former president’s durability, overestimated his own political skill and struggled through reboot after reboot.The Florida governor withdrew on Sunday and endorsed Trump, two days before New Hampshire primary.

The polls show Americans want to move on from President Biden, and Republicans have a choice to make about the alternative to offer voters in November. Will it be the prospect of a second Donald Trump term, with its inevitable turmoil and polarization, or will the GOP look forward to forge a new conservative governing coalition?

That’s the essence of the choice facing Republicans as New Hampshire holds its primary on Tuesday.

But before the die is cast, it’s worth thinking about the risks GOP voters would be taking, both in November and in a second term if by some chance Mr. Trump defeated Mr. Biden.

The election risks are sitting in plain sight.

91 felony charges in four different indictments.

Democrats predict a second Trump term will end in dictatorship.

The internal opposition will still be implacable, the leaks unending, the press relentlessly hostile. This is another reason the Trump-as-Hitler fears are implausible.

Can Mr. Trump deliver the policy and political victories that GOP voters want. There are many reasons to think he can’t.

Start with the fact that Mr. Trump would be an immediate lame duck.

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