Miami Mayor Francis Suarez teases 2024 GOP presidential bid ahead of potential launch
Emily Jacobs
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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez hinted on Sunday that he plans to enter the 2024 Republican presidential primary this week.
Suarez, 45, urged viewers during a Fox News Sunday appearance to “stay tuned” for a “major announcement” that he planned to unveil during a speech Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. The presidential library is hosting Suarez as part of its ongoing “Time for Choosing” series, which features leading conservative voices “to address critical questions facing the future of the Republican Party.”
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“My announcement is to stay tuned,” Suarez said Sunday. “Next week, like you said, I’m going to be making a big speech in the Reagan Library, and I think it’s one that Americans should tune into. It’s one where we’re gonna talk about what the future of our country should be. It should be a future that creates prosperity, not poverty.”
“I have traveled across the country. I’ve been to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada,” he added. “I can tell you when I take the message to people, they want to hear more.”
Should he enter the race on Thursday, Suarez will become the third major GOP candidate representing the state of Florida. Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the respective frontrunners in the Republican primary, both call the Sunshine State their home.
Suarez has been openly critical of Trump and DeSantis, especially the latter in recent months. He took issue with a number of items on the Florida governor’s 2023 legislative agenda, including parts of his immigration reform package, the six-week abortion ban, and bills that went after Disney. The Miami mayor began publicly floating a 2024 bid in late spring, as Trump and DeSantis maintained their holds on the top two spots in polling.
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In addition to the fractured Florida coalition, Suarez will face a growing GOP field that includes the recent additions of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. Tim Scott (SC), former Vice President Mike Pence, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and conservative talk radio host Larry Elder have also thrown their hats in the ring.