Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced on Tuesday that he is ending his longshot bid for the Republican presidential nomination after failing to qualify for last week’s primary debate. The two-term mayor is now the first candidate to drop out of the race.
“Running for President of the United States has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Suarez wrote in part on X. “While I have decided to suspend my campaign for President, my commitment to making this a better nation for every American remains.”
Running for President of the United States has been one of the greatest honors of my life. This country has given so much to my family and me. The prospect of giving back at the highest levels of public service is a motivator if not a calling. Throughout this process, I have met…
— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) August 29, 2023
This announcement came after days of apparent uncertainty regarding whether Suarez would qualify to appear on the debate stage alongside eight other candidates. Despite initially indicating that he had met the requirements, the Republican National Committee ultimately ruled that polling was not in his favor.
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Suarez had previously suggested that he had met the 40,000-donor threshold in August, further boasting the required 1% support in three national polls. However, the RNC rejected the results of one of those polls, claiming that it was too closely affiliated with Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign. Suarez addressed this development ahead of the debate, stating “I am sorry that this debate will not include my perspectives from the largest growing voting bloc in our country – young, conservative Hispanics.”
Throughout the debate verification process, my team was in touch with the RNC as we worked towards meeting the qualifications for the first debate.
On Thursday afternoon, in consultation with the RNC, we believed the polling requirement would be met by two polls that were yet…
— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) August 22, 2023
As his campaign draws to a close, Suarez has not endorsed another candidate, saying instead “I look forward to keeping in touch with the other Republican presidential candidates and doing what I can to make sure our party puts forward a strong nominee who can inspire and unify the country, renew Americans’ trust in our institutions and in each other, and win.”
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