GOP candidate faces calls to drop out after missing first debate

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is facing calls to drop out of the Republican presidential primary after he failed to earn a spot on the stage for the first GOP debate Wednesday evening.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Miami Herald editorial board published an op-ed calling for Suarez to “face the music.” The editorial pointed to comments Suarez recently made stating that candidates who don’t make the debate stage by failing to earn a sufficient amount of support should drop out of the race.

“I agree that if you can’t meet the minimum thresholds, you shouldn’t be trying to take the time involved away from being productive,” Suarez told reporters at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 11.

“I don’t think candidates should just sort of linger around … if they don’t have a credible path,” he added.

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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez delivers remarks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on June 15 in Simi Valley, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Ahead of the debate the Republican National Committee required candidates to obtain minimum of 40,000 donors with 200 in 20 or more states and poll at 1% at least in three national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls deemed acceptable. Suarez met the donor requirement, but failed to get 1% support in polls.

The Miami Herald editorial board said Suarez never had a credible path to the nomination and should drop out to allow himself to again focus entirely on his mayoral duties.

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“Staying in the race is a fruitless exercise that takes time away from Suarez’s mayoral duties,” the editorial stated.

“On paper, Suarez represents the future of the Republican Party. At 45, he’s young, Hispanic and a mayor in the nation’s third-largest state,” it continued. “But Miami’s bitcoin mayor — the darling of tech bros who have built a lot of hype around Miami’s emerging tech sector — was out of his depth running to lead the world’s most powerful democracy.”

The Fiserv Forum is prepared for the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday evening in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Suarez failed to make the debate stage. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The editorial further noted a slate of recent negative headlines Suarez has faced since announcing his intention to run for president in June.

For example, in a radio interview on June 27, Suarez appeared confused when asked about Uyghurs, the minority group the Chinese government has persecuted. He is also being investigated for his relationship to businessman Rishi Kapoor who paid Suarez $170,000 in consulting fees while having business before the city. 

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And Suarez is the subject of an ethics complaint for accepting VIP tickets to the Formula One race in Miami and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“Suarez’s commitment to his public office was under question before he jumped in the GOP primary,” the Miami Herald editorial continued. “Is running for president just a vanity project, or is Miami’s ambitious mayor more concerned in using his bid as a jumping-off point for his next lucrative gig? Either way, he should call it a day.”