US: Miami mayor Suarez joins Republican presidential race
June 15, 2023
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez joined a crowded field hoping to upset former president Donald Trump's dominance in the Republican presidential nomination race.
According to the Federal Electoral Commission, he submitted the documents for the candidacy to run for US president on Wednesday.
The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race thus far, is expected to make an official announcement on Thursday in a "big speech" at the Reagan Library in California.
Who is Francis Suarez?
Suarez is the son of Miami's first Cuban-born mayor and the president of the US Conference of Mayors. In recent years, he has garnered national attention for his efforts to attract businesses to Miami with the goal of transforming the city into a crypto hub and the next Silicon Valley.
Suarez has said he didn't support Trump in either the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections. In 2018, he publicly condemned Trump after reports came out that he had questioned why the United States would accept more immigrants from Haiti and countries in Africa which the then president used an expletive to describe.
The mayor is married with two young children. He has also positioned himself as someone who can help the Republican party further connect with Hispanics.
Another candidate from Florida
Suarez is one of three candidates from Florida, following in the footsteps of Governor Ron DeSantis and Trump, who has been living at his Mar-a-Lago residence since leaving the White House.
The race is largely viewed as a two-person competition between Trump and DeSantis. But the other competitors are hoping for an opening that the former president has created with his legal issues. On Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty to 37 counts of mishandling sensitive documents and refusing to return them.
The majority of the Republican field will face off at a first debate set for August 23. The winner of the primary contest will go up against the candidate chosen by the Democratic party, very likely President Joe Biden, at the polls in November 2024.
dh/jsi (AP, AFP, Reuters)