Miami Mayor Francis Suarez enters 2024 presidential race as GOP contender
Tossing his hat into the ring, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has joined the race for the 2024 United States presidential elections from the Republican camp. The son of a renowned Cuban American politician, Suarez recently filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, marking the beginning of his campaign journey, as reported by various US media outlets.
Suarez now becomes the third key political personality from Florida to contest the Republican presidential nomination, joining the ranks of two frontrunners within the party: former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. At 45 years old, Suarez would be the only significant Hispanic contender in the race so far. With Florida being a long-established swing state that has recently veered further right, the considerable Cuban American population has solidified its status as a powerful Republican stronghold for generations.
However, Suarez faces an uphill challenge in dethroning Trump as the top Republican candidate. While Trump was attending a federal arraignment in a classified documents case, Suarez appeared outside the Miami courthouse, but was met by a hostile group of protestors, dubbing him a “swamp monster” and “RINO” (Republican in name only). Suarez has tried to distance himself from both Trump and DeSantis, carving out a more moderate Republican space for himself.
In response to Trump’s derogatory remarks about Haiti, Suarez “wholeheartedly condemned the discriminatory comments” on Twitter, referring to his own immigrant family background. He also admitted to not supporting Trump’s re-election bid in 2020, stating that politicians should be inspiring and respectful individuals with a good character.
Though initially sceptical of DeSantis’s first run for governor and voting for Democratic opponent Andrew Gillum in 2018, Suarez eventually supported DeSantis’s successful bid in 2022. Despite his support, Suarez continues to voice his criticism where necessary, such as in May, when he dismissed DeSantis’s dispute with Disney as a “personal vendetta” during his appearance on The Hill’s NewsNation show.
Elected as Miami mayor in 2017, Suarez had been considering a long-shot presidential run since as early as 2021, coinciding with his re-election. His father, Xavier Suarez, served as Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor from 1985. Throughout his time as mayor, Francis Suarez has worked to position Miami as the next prominent US tech centre, actively attracting professionals away from traditional hotspots, such as California’s Silicon Valley, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic’s peak.
In a conversation with the New York Times’s DealBook in 2021, Suarez emphasised his intent to be “on the next wave of innovation.” His determination to embrace this future was evident when he famously declared via Twitter that he would accept his salary in Bitcoin. Indeed, Suarez publicly endorsed other digital currencies, like MiamiCoin, despite some plummeting in value or becoming enmeshed in controversy.
