Despite reporting that he would be taking the debate stage, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) has not qualified for tonight’s primary debate.
Earlier this month, Mayor Suarez posted a video on social media, letting his followers know that he had qualified for the Republican primary debate on August 23rd. However, reports quickly sprang up refuting the claim and informing that Suarez had not gained the support necessary to take part in the debate.
With conflicting reports dominating the airwaves, Suarez finally took to social media this week to clear the air and explain why he had informed otherwise.
Suarez mentioned that last Thursday “in consultation with the RNC, we believed the polling requirement would be met by two polls that were yet to be reported.”
He further explained that “on Monday night, we learned that a Cygnal poll would not be counted due to its affiliation with Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign, despite multiple published reports confirming the poll was not paid for by any campaign.” Mentioning both Kaplan and Morning Consult (Aug 11-13), two polls he says were certified by the RNC, “we believed an equivalent Morning Consult poll (July 1-3) showing me at 1% would certainly be certified.”
As a result, Suarez lamented his absence from the debate, mentioning that the debate will not include his “perspectives from the largest growing voting block in our country – young, conservative Hispanics.”
“Additionally, Republicans will not be able to hear my story of how conservative principles of keeping taxes low, keeping people safe and focusing on creating prosperity for all created the most successful big city in America.”
Since announcing his candidacy, Suarez has presented himself as the candidate that can bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrats. His campaign has also struggled to gain support even though he has dubbed himself the strongest candidate in the field.
