Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, has reportedly joined the crowded Republican presidential field, becoming the first Hispanic in the race and claiming he can increase Republican appeal nationally, particularly among Hispanics.
Suarez, 45, formally filed federal paperwork on Wednesday, only one day after Donald Trump was arraigned in Miami on allegations that he had secret records stored at his Palm Beach County residence.
He made his bid known during his appearance on “Good Morning America” on Thursday.
Suarez joins Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis as a contender from Florida, a state that was once a key battleground but is now steadily becoming Republican.
The son of Miami’s first mayor born in Cuba, Suarez has twice been chosen by voters to represent one of the most crucial electoral districts in the third-largest state in the union.
Suarez is the mayor of Miami, a city with a population of 450,000 people that is part of Miami-Dade County, a territory with a population of about 2.5 million people and whose mayor is Daniella Levine Cava.
Suarez has bragged about the city’s low crime rate and economic achievements, but he has recently come under fire from news stories about a developer who reportedly recruited him to obtain permits for a dormant real estate project while the developer was also vying for clearance for a city project.
Suarez has also admitted that he did not support DeSantis in the 2018 election and that he once disagreed with him over Covid-19 limits during the outbreak.
However, he did admit that he intended to support DeSantis in 2022.
[READ MORE: Ted Cruz Shreds FBI’s Deputy Director Over Shock Allegations Biden Received Millions in Bribes]
