Miami Mayor Francis Suarez officially launched his 2024 presidential campaign Thursday, pitching himself to voters as a candidate focused on solutions, not divisiveness.
“In Miami, we stopped waiting for Washington to lead,” Suarez said in his announcement video. “America’s so-called leaders confuse being loud with actually leading.”
But to win the Republican nomination, Suarez must beat back two other Floridians blocking his path to the presidency: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Suarez has, in the past, placed himself at odds with the two GOP frontrunners.
In a crowded GOP primary field, Suarez’ edge could be his vision for a “next-generation” GOP, with younger political leaders, “generational” solutions to long-lasting problems and a more diverse cast.
Another Floridian in the fight
With two high-profile Floridians leading the race, Suarez’ presidential aspirations may be dashed from the start, according to Sean Freeder, a political science professor at the University of North Florida.
“Given how crowded the GOP primary field is, and how late his entrance is, I don’t think Suarez has a serious chance at the nomination in 2024,” Freeder said. “Given that the two most high-profile candidates are also from Florida, he’ll have a difficult time leveraging even a home-field advantage.”
Suarez announced his candidacy just days after Trump − the GOP frontrunner − was arraigned in federal court in the Miami mayor’s city on charges linked to an investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents.
The Miami mayor was in the courtroom when the former president was arraigned, saying Thursday that Republicans are frustrated by the perception there is not an “equal administration of justice” in the U.S. But when pressed by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on the charges Trump faces, Suarez demurred.
“I think if we continue to have a conversation about the former president then the former president will be the nominee,” he said on “Good Morning America.”
Suarez also said the conversation around Trump’s legal woes is not a “healthy” one for the country and that he wants his 2024 candidacy to be “positive and unifying and focused on a positive future for Americans.”
But it’s no secret Suarez isn’t the former president’s biggest fan. He has said he didn’t support Trump in either the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections, instead writing in the names of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and then-Vice President Mike Pence.
Suarez did not vote for DeSantis in 2018, either, instead opting for his Democratic challenger, then-Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, according to the Miami Herald. He did back the Florida governor’s reelection bid in 2022.
Suarez took aim at DeSantis last month for his “personal vendetta” against Disney after the company pulled the plug in Florida on a $1 billion investment that was expected to bring a new office complex and 2,000 jobs to the state.
“It looks like now it’s … spite or maybe potentially a personal vendetta, which has cost the state now potentially 2,000 jobs in a billion-dollar investment,” Suarez told NewsNation.
He has expressed support for DeSantis’ so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law that bans classroom teachings on sexual orientation and gender identity through third grade, but has not specified whether he supports the expansion of that policy to all grades.
But Suarez’ distaste for Trump and DeSantis could come back to bite him as he mounts a national campaign, according to Charles Zelden, a history and political science professor at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
“As a mayor, he had a tendency to work with Democrats,” Zelden said in an email. “This won’t play well with the Republican base.”
A ‘next-generation’ candidate
Suarez, 45, also joins a growing chorus of GOP presidential candidates who are singing the same tune: It’s time for a new generation of politicians.
In his speech Thursday evening, Suarez is expected to say that it’s “time for a next-generation leader.” His appeal for a fresh slate of politicians echoes calls from 2024 candidates like DeSantis, 44, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, 51.
Haley has made the call for a new generation of political leadership a hallmark of her campaign, suggesting that “mental competency tests” should be required for for politicians over 75 years old, which would include President Joe Biden and Trump.
Suarez’ tenure as Miami’s mayor has been marked by his efforts to lure tech companies to Miami, which he said in his announcement video is an “effort to embrace innovation.”
“I’m running for president because I think I have a different message than other candidates have,” Suarez said Thursday on “Good Morning America.” “I’m generational − and not generational as a buzzword, but as someone who has implemented generational change to create prosperity in the city.”
Expanding Hispanic voters for GOP
Suarez’ vision for a new generation of politicians doesn’t stop at age or innovation. As the only Hispanic candidate in the 2024 presidential race, his pitch to voters includes his Hispanic background and potential to engage the highly sought-after voting bloc.
“Despite the likely difficulties he’ll face breaking out of the primary, on paper at least, Suarez would probably make for a very attractive Republican nominee in the general,” Freeder said. “Republicans are certainly looking to expand upon recent current trends among Latino voters, and his youth would help him appeal to younger voters.”
Hispanic voters were paramount to wins in several key 2022 races − for Democrats. In Nevada, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto was reelected after a tight race against Republican Adam Laxalt, largely thanks to the 62% of Latino voters who cast ballots in her favor. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, won reelection against Republican Blake Masters with more than half, 58%, of Latino voters’ support.
But the so-called “Hispanic voting bloc” is not monolithic, made up of voters from all across Mexico and Latin America. That diversity leaves space for Republicans to capture Hispanic voters from countries like Cuba and Venezuela with anti-socialism messaging.
Groups described as “Hispanic” and “Latino” are not entirely interchangeable.
Republicans have already begun laying the groundwork on those efforts in Florida. Miami-Dade County, the largest in the region that has historically favored Democrats, shifted right as DeSantis won the county − the first GOP official to do so since 2002. In 2022, DeSantis won Florida by roughly 19 percentage points, earning support from some 58% of Latino voters, according to exit polls. Trump also saw success there, winning 52% of Latino voters in Miami and the Gold Coast in the 2020 election.
“Being Hispanic could work to Suarez’ benefit,” Zelden said in an email. “DeSantis’ victory in ‘22 showed the benefits to Republicans reaching out to Hispanic voters. I expect this is going to be Suarez’ main argument for his run for president.”
Suarez launched his campaign with a social media post in English and Spanish. As a Cuban-American − and the son of Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor − he has said he sees a path to continue growing Republican support among those voters.
“I think I can grow the tent − not for an election, but for a generation,” he told Politico in May.
Contributing: Associated Press
