Republican Candidate Drops Out of Presidential Race

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has suspended his short-lived presidential campaign after failing to qualify for the GOP debate earlier this month.

In a lengthy statement posted Tuesday to X (formerly Twitter), Suarez said he was suspending his campaign a little more than two months after announcing his long-shot bid for the presidency.

"Running for President of the United States has been one of the greatest honors of my life," he said. "This country has given so much to my family and me. The prospect of giving back at the highest levels of public service is a motivator if not a calling. Throughout this process, I have met so many freedom-loving Americans who care deeply about our nation, her people, and its future. It was a privilege to come so close to appearing on stage with the other candidates at last week's first debate."

A relative unknown in national politics before launching his campaign earlier this year, Suarez made aggressive inroads into the Republican primary field, running an extensive digital promotional campaign that outspent several of his peers in the lead-up to the August 23 debate in Milwaukee.