Miami Mayor Francis Suarez says he's collected the requisite number of unique donations to qualify for the Republican presidential debate later this month.
Suarez, who launched an underdog bid for President in mid-June, announced he'd crossed the 40,000 unique donor threshold the GOP set for the debate set for Aug. 23.
"In less than six weeks my team and I have quite literally gone from zero to a hundred and we are confident that I will be on the debate stage in two weeks," Suarez said Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"If my party wants to beat Joe Biden, then we need to build a bigger and better tent, and I believe I can attract the Hispanic and suburban voters pivotal to winning back Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania that no other candidate can.
"I've done it in Miami, having won with 85% of the vote in a city that voted for Hillary Clinton by 30-points—and it's time we do the same for America."
While he'll stand on even ground with more renowned party names like former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence among many others, Suarez faces an uphill battle in the polls.
Among all candidates about which FiveThirtyEight has surveyed prospective voters, he's placed dead last at 0.0%.
His popularity so far peaked in the second week of July, when 0.1% of respondents told the site's pollsters they favored him.
A Cuban American and twice-elected Mayor, Suarez, 45, became the third Florida man to enter the Republican fray for President on June 14 — just over seven weeks ago.
He's said on the campaign trail he offers a younger, more in-touch alternative to his Primary opponents, touting Miami's quick rebound from the pandemic, his position as a Mayor of an urban city and his perspective on immigration as the only Hispanic in the contest among his most saleable assets.
