Suarez says qualifying for GOP debate could make or break campaign

In an interview on The Hill on NewsNation, Miami Mayor and 2024 GOP presidential candidate Francis Suarez said getting onto the Republican debate stage later this month will be crucial in determining the fate of his campaign. 

“For someone like me, it’s critical,” Suarez said in the Tuesday interview. “I’m relatively unknown.”

He added, “Getting on that debate stage […] is frankly priceless,” he added.

Suarez, who said he met one out of two requirements for the first debate Monday, compared the campaign to the hit CBS reality television show “Survivor.”

“I’ve often said that running for president is sort of like being on the show ‘Survivor,’” Suarez said. “And you have to sort of make it from one episode to the next.”

If he fails to acquire a spot on the stage, he may drop out of the race, Suarez added.

“I think that’s probably right,” he said when asked by News Nation if failing to qualify for the debate will effectively end his campaign.

Suarez is currently polling at an average of 0.1 percent in the Republican race, far behind former President Donald Trump at 52.4 percent and governor of his home state Ron DeSantis at 15.6 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight. 

As of Tuesday, the candidates who appear to have met the Republican National Committee’s polling and donor requirements are former President Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Tim Scott’s (S.C.) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.