Topline
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced Tuesday he was suspending his campaign for president, less than a week after the candidate failed to meet the requirements to make the stage at last week’s Republican debate.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is ending his bid for the presidency, dropping out of the 2024 race after … [+]
Key Facts
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Suarez said running for the presidency was one of the greatest honors of his life and his “commitment to making this a better nation for every American remains,” despite his campaign’s suspension.
Suarez also said “the current Administration is failing our country” and he will continue to do what he can “to make sure our party puts forward a strong nominee who can inspire and unify the country, renew Americans’ trust in our institutions and in each other, and win.”
Suarez entered the crowded race for the Republican presidential nomination back in June—just one day after former President Donald Trump and the leading Republican nominee was indicted in Miami—saying he had “a different message than what other candidates have” and felt like Republicans wanted someone to unify them.
Suarez regularly polled poorly: As of Tuesday, his average in the 2024 primary polls according to FiveThirtyEight was the lowest of all candidates, at just .2%.
In one Quinnipiac poll conducted earlier this month, just 4% of respondents had a favorable opinion of Suarez and 11% had an unfavorable opinion, while a whopping 85% hadn’t heard enough about the candidate to have an opinion.
Crucial Quote
“I know what we have achieved during my tenure leading the City of Miami can be replicated in every community in our great country,” Suarez wrote in his post. “The next President must play a major role in getting America’s cities back on track to safety, prosperity and a better quality of life for all.”
Key Background
Earlier this month, Suarez hinted that he would end his campaign if he failed to make the debate stage, saying in an interview in Iowa that if a candidate couldn’t “meet the minimum thresholds” they shouldn’t “be trying to take time and volume away from people that do,” CNBC reported. To qualify for the debate, candidates needed to meet a minimum threshold in a handful of polls and earn at least 40,000 donors. Suarez is widely popular in Miami, and suggested he could win back younger voters that Trump lost to Biden. He said he could “grow the party with Hispanics” as the first-ever Hispanic Republican president. Early in his campaign, he called Trump’s two indictments “serious,” but added that Trump’s rising poll numbers in the aftermath of his criminal charges show “a distrust of not only the media, but of our justice system,” which he promised to “recreate and to reinstill” if he’s elected.
Further Reading
