“I’m going to run for president. I’m going to run for your children and mine. Let’s give them the future they deserve. It’s time to take things into our own hands. It’s time to get things started,” Suarez said in a video posted online.
The video was published less than a day after Suarez filed to run for president with the Federal Election Commission.
Suarez is the third Florida resident to join the rising Republican primary, joining former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has trailed in second place in most polling.
Suarez is also the first Hispanic candidate to jump into the GOP field this cycle, representing a critical constituency for the party, according to The Hill.
The Miami mayor, however, faces an uphill climb to his nomination, given the current state of the polls and his relatively low national name recognition, the newspaper added.
In order to qualify for the first Republican debate in August, Suarez will need to poll at a minimum of 1 percent in three national polls and garner a minimum of 40,000 unique donors, and at least 200 unique donors from 20 or more states and territories.
In addition to Florida’s, other GOP pre-candidates are former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Senator Tim Scott.
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