- The Washington Times - Saturday, May 13, 2023

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is considering a White House bid in 2024 and styling himself as the perfect politico to grow the Grand Old Party’s tent to reach new voters nationwide. 

Conventional wisdom has pitted the race for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination as a heavyweight bout between other prominent Floridians, namely former President Donald Trump and the Sunshine State’s Gov. Ron DeSantis

Mr. Suarez wants to have a say in the presidential race, however, and traveled to the D.C. area this week to share his aspirations of higher office. The Miami mayor said Friday that big decisions remain ahead for him in a tweet linking to remarks he made to Politico. 

“I’m here, because I’m a Hispanic mayor, a Republican, who was considering running for president,” Mr. Suarez told Politico. “Part of the reason why I’m considering running for president is because I think I can grow the tent — not for an election, but for a generation.”

Florida has previously served as a hotbed for GOP presidential candidates. For example, the state produced two candidates who lost to Mr. Trump in 2016’s race for the GOP nomination — former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio. 

Mr. Suarez appears to expect three Florida Republicans to have a major say in picking the GOP’s 2024 nominee. 

“I think the race comes down to, on the Republican side, three options: the former president, the governor [Mr. DeSantis] and someone else,” he told Politico. “I think “the someone else” are people, many of them aren’t known, [who] have not yet captivated our people.”

Mr. Suarez is counting on Americans bucking expectations of their political preferences when they head to the polls next year. He said former President Barack Obama disrupted campaign politics through micro-contributions and Mr. Trump scored earned media over paid ads.

The Miami mayor figures another disruption to campaign politics remains ahead. Asked when he would decide whether to formally enter the fray, he told Politico he did not have a specific date but thought candidates would need to be onstage in a forthcoming August debate. 

• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.

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