Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) declined to commit to voting for President Trump in November, saying he wants to see more from both the president and his presumptive Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, before making his decision.
“I want to see what both candidates have to offer for the urban communities before making up my mind on who I’m going to support,” Suarez, 42, told Politico.
Suarez’s apprehension to fully support Trump underscores the tough battle the president faces in a crucial battleground state that he won by just 1.2 percentage points in 2016 against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
RealClearPolitics’s average of polls currently gives Biden a five-point lead over Trump, 48-43, though a recent survey by Republican pollster Trafalgar Group showed the two candidates tied.
Both of Florida’s senators — Rick Scott and Marco Rubio — as well as Gov. Ron DeSantis are Republicans, but all three have also polled better with Floridians than Trump has during the coronavirus pandemic.
With 29 electoral votes, the Sunshine State is crucial for Trump if he hopes to win reelection. The president, who switched his official residency from New York to Florida in 2019, is slated to visit Miami on Friday. Suarez has expressed his expectations that Trump wear a mask during his visit, a requirement of the city.
“The president is expected to follow the rules, just like everybody else,” Suarez said.
Trump last week said that he had “no problem” with wearing a mask, but hasn’t done so in his most recent in-person campaign stops, including South Dakota, Arizona and Oklahoma.