Miami Mayor Francis Suarez becomes 3rd Floridian to join crowded GOP presidential race


Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) filed paperwork Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission to officially join the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He is expected to announce his candidacy in a speech at the Reagan Library in California on Thursday night. Suarez is the first Hispanic candidate in the increasingly crowded GOP field, and the third Florida resident after former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Suarez, 45, is a corporate and real estate attorney and the son of Miami's first Cuban-born mayor. He is considered more politically moderate than Trump and DeSantis, the current frontrunners, and told Politico in May that if he ran for the GOP nomination, it would be "because I think I can grow the tent — not for an election, but for a generation" — especially with Hispanic voters. Former Trump presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway said in May she has "not been shy about telling President Trump that Suarez should be on the short, short list for VP should Trump be the nominee."
Suarez has suggested he will also run on his record in Miami, including his push to make it a tech and cryptocurrency hub to rival Silicon Valley. He has also acknowledged he wrote in candidates other than Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections and did not vote for DeSantis in the 2018 governor's race.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Sail in style onboard the brand-new Explora II
The Week Recommends Hit the high seas on a luxury cruise from Barcelona to Rome
-
Is the EU funding Russia more than Ukraine?
The Explainer EU remains largest importer of Russian fossil fuels despite sanctions aimed at crippling Kremlin's war effort
-
Posh crisps: an 'elite' tier of snacking
The Week Recommends Hand-cooked and dusted in 'decadent' flavours, the humble potato chip is being elevated to new levels
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges