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. Backed of a renowned Cuban American politician, Suarez lately filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, marking the start of his campaign journey, as reported by varied US media shops.
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 At forty five years outdated, Suarez could be the only significant Hispanic contender within the race thus far. With Florida being a long-established swing state that has just lately veered further proper, the appreciable Cuban American inhabitants has solidified its standing as a strong Republican stronghold for generations.
However, Suarez faces an uphill problem in dethroning Trump as the highest Republican candidate. While Trump was attending a federal arraignment in a categorised documents case, Suarez appeared exterior 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 extra average 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 household background. He additionally admitted to not supporting Trump’s re-election bid in 2020, stating that politicians ought to be inspiring and respectful people with an excellent 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 profitable bid in 2022. Despite his support, Suarez continues to voice his criticism the place essential, corresponding to 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 together 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 subsequent 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..