Miami’s ambitious mayor makes a big leap, but is being president really Suarez’s goal? | Opinion

Francis Suarez is a man in a hurry.

The two-term mayor and former commissioner of Miami has turned himself into a tech-bro hero, cryptocurrency cheerleader and conservative cable news staple. He likes the glitz and star power that come with running a city that’s transforming into a technology and financial hub.

That attention seems to have convinced him he can run for president.

Suarez, 45, is now the third Florida Republican seeking the White House, going up against two heavyweights: Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Suarez filed the paperwork to run in the GOP primary Wednesday. An official announcement is expected Thursday in California at the Ronald Reagan Library & Museum.

Suarez is young, telegenic and a good fundraiser. But his candidacy is a head-scratcher: Is he really running for president — or something else?

Suarez’s name isn’t even mentioned in many presidential polls. It seems far beyond his political reach to compete for the nomination with Trump, DeSantis or the handful of other candidates, like Mike Pence, who are running as anti-Trump Republicans.

Mayors have a bad track record running for president. Think of “America’s Mayor” himself, Rudy Giuliani of New York City, or Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana.

Thinner resume

As a mayor with mostly ceremonial duties, Suarez does not have the gravitas or experience of his counterparts in the 2024 primary, which includes governors, a senator, a vice president and, of course, a former president. But Suarez has built a brand that has gotten him this far. His name made it onto billboards across San Francisco and the Bay Area, telling tech companies in a mock tweet: “Thinking about moving to Miami? DM [direct message] me.”

That brand has been tarnished recently, though. Sources told the Herald he faces scrutiny by the FBI and local authorities for $10,000 monthly payments he received from a developer for consulting work — while serving as mayor. That’s small potatoes compared to Trump’s legal problems, but those fees look like a conflict of interest.

Much as mounting a long-shot, yet buzz-filled, run for president in 2020 landed Democrat Buttigieg a job as U.S. secretary of transportation, Suarez, too, might wind up with a plum political appointment out of this contest or running for another office later on. In other words, he could win without actually winning.

If he raises enough money and gets a couple of viral soundbites at a presidential debate, Suarez might line up his next job. Perhaps as someone’s VP pick or as a paid political commentator or top political consultant. Suarez is energetic, Hispanic, fluent in Spanish — appealing to the type of voters the GOP has invested significant resources to attract. As mayor, he’s been criticized for focusing too much on shiny baubles and less on the unglamorous job of leading Miami-Dade County’s largest city. But those qualities might play well in some other role.

There’s a caveat: Suarez’s candidacy cannot fade immediately out of the gate and risk ending his political career, said Dario Moreno, professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University. That means Suarez must fight for media coverage in a crowded primary.

Being the hip mayor of a mid-sized city isn’t enough to figure prominently on the hyper-polarized national stage. And Suarez, who has taken some moderate stances in Miami, already has shown he’s willing to push harder to the right to get the conservative media hype he needs.

Who is he really?

Suarez once talked about his goal of reducing Miami’s greenhouse gas emissions to a net zero by 2050. He was open about not voting for Trump. He even told the Herald he voted for progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum for governor in 2018, though, in 2022, he said he supported DeSantis.

Contrast that with the social media ads a group affiliated with him ran in key primary states last year. They railed about “the radical left” and accused President Joe Biden of a “rabid desire to control our classrooms.” On Fox News, Suarez bashed the “liberal” Miami Herald, which broke the story about his $10,000-a-month work for that developer and how Suarez’s office helped the developer resolve permitting issues with the city.

With his expected presidential announcement at the Reagan library, is Suarez hoping to convey that he would be a Reagan-style Republican? Or that he would attract what they used to call “Reagan Democrats?” “The Gipper” attracted followers from both parties. Suarez might be trying to create a new lane by making Reagan Republicans a thing again — in the party of Trump, no less.

If a tie to Reagan is what Suarez seeks, we can’t help but note what a lost opportunity it would be for Suarez not to declare his candidacy in Miami. Exactly 40 years ago, Reagan came to our city and created a stir among Cuban exiles, who warmly welcomed him at a then-popular restaurant called La Esquina de Tejas in the heart of Little Havana. It was the first time Cuban exiles felt heard and, at that moment, they recognized their voting power and cemented their loyalty to the GOP.

That bit of history might be irrelevant now for Suarez, who’s made it clear he’s got his sights set on something bigger than Miami.

For this man in a hurry and with lots of ambition, there will be no time for baby steps. Suarez will have to define himself on the national stage and show Republican voters — many already smitten with Trump or, to a lesser degree, DeSantis — who he really is. Is he the hip moderate, Reagan 2.0 or a right-wing Biden baiter? If the latter, he’ll be fighting for ground to which Trump and DeSantis already have staked a huge claim.

If Suarez truly is seeking the biggest political prize in the free world, he’ll first have to make a powerful case that he’s the better choice for the nomination.

That said, he might end up with a really neat consolation prize.