Republican Miami mayor ‘strongly considering’ 2024 presidential bid
Brady Knox
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Miami GOP Mayor Francis Suarez said he’s “strongly considering” running for president in 2024.
In an interview with NewsNation, Suarez teased a presidential run, which would likely see him face off in the Republican primary against two other highly prominent Floridians, former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), the latter of whom has not announced his candidacy but is expected to.
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“Oh, I definitely have not ruled it out,” he answered when asked if he had ruled out a run after failing to give a yes or no answer. “I’ve strongly considered.”
However, Suarez said whatever the case, he would make his decision soon.
“So I need to make a decision soon because, as your panel I’m sure knows, debates are coming up quick on Aug. 20. And so I think for someone like me, who, as you said, has ascended quickly, but it’s still relatively unknown nationally. You have to be on the debate stage to tell your story,” he continued.
Suarez also responded to the suggestion from Trump consultant Kellyanne Conway that he may run as Trump’s vice president.
“Look, it’s early right now. And obviously, I haven’t even decided whether or not I’m going to run for president,” he responded. “That’s what I will be doing. I will be, you know, obviously fighting to be the nominee of the Republican Party. And so those kinds of questions will be decided later on.”
The Miami mayor also appeared to give a subtle pitch for himself as a national candidate, pointing to his success in Miami.
“I think the success we’ve had in Miami, reducing taxes to its lowest level and seeing double-digit growth, reducing homicide to the lowest per capita level since 1964, and this year being 30% down in homicides, and being the, you know, the city with the lowest unemployment in America, that’s something that captivates people across America,” Suarez said.
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He added that he believes he would be appealing to the younger demographic and the Hispanic demographic due to his status as the son of Cuban immigrants. Suarez claimed that Hispanics are likely to turn toward Republicans due to things like their disapproval of Democrats referring to them as “Latinx.”
Suarez isn’t presented as an option in most polls, so it’s difficult to figure out what sort of chance he stands at winning the presidency. He would have a large gap to close in a relatively short period of time, however, as Trump approaches a nearly 50-point lead in the Republican field in some recent polls.