Miami Mayor Showing Signs of Jumping into the 2024 Presidential Race

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, is showing signs of jumping into the presidential race, recruiting staffers to join his campaign and raising money, ushering contributions to a federal super PAC.

According to the Miami Herald, Suarez is showing further signs of jumping into the presidential race. Several City Hall staffers have unpaid leave through August, presumably to prepare for the launch of Suarez’s presidential campaign.

“Sources familiar with the matter told the Miami Herald that the employees, including a top advisor and spokesperson, took the leave to work in support of a soon-to-be-announced presidential campaign,” the outlet reported, also noting that Suarez is attending a fundraiser on Wednesday sponsored by the Super PAC America For Everyone. However, staffers did not appear to comment on the matter or reveal their intentions or future plans.

Further, Suarez is slated to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s “A Time for Choosing Speaker Series.” This forum, as described by the press release of the event, is “for leading voices in the conservative movement to address critical questions facing the future of the Republican Party.”

“Speakers include leading intellectuals, U.S. representatives, U.S. senators, governors, and emerging 2024 presidential candidates,” the press release teased. That conversation will take place Thursday, June 15.

While it remains unclear if and when the mayor will announce a presidential bid, Moishe Mana, whom the Miami Herald described as a “major Suarez donor,” said Suarez and his wife are going to make a decision “within the next week.”

Notably, Suarez should not be mistaken for North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony F. DeFillipo, whom Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended from office this week via an executive order following an arrest and allegations that the politician voted illegally “three times.”

Suarez would follow a growing list of Republicans joining the presidential field. On Tuesday, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie formally joined the presidential race, criticizing former President Donald Trump while doing so.

“We have leaders who have led us to being small. Small by their example. Small by the way they conduct themselves. Small by the things they tell us we should care about. Smaller and smaller,” he said, continuing that theme, which prompted a response from Trump.

“How many times did Chris Christie use the word SMALL? Does he have a psychological problem with SIZE? Actually, his speech was SMALL, and not very good. It rambled all over the place, and nobody had a clue of what he was talking about,” he said, concluding it was “hard to watch.”