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RYE, N.H. – Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, Florida, is optimistic he’ll make the stage at next week’s Fox News-hosted first Republican presidential nomination debate.
“We’re planning as if we’re going to be there and we’re excited about being there. It’s the first opportunity for me to introduce myself to the country and it’s important,” Suarez emphasized in an interview with Fox News Digital.
But Suarez said on Wednesday that candidates who fail to qualify for the showdown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, “shouldn’t stay in the race.”
CHECK OUT INITIAL FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE
Here’s which candidates have met certain RNC requirements for the first Republican presidential debate. (Fox News)
Eight candidates have reached the polling and donor thresholds mandated by the Republican National Committee in order to qualify for the initial presidential nomination debate on Aug. 23. They are former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and biotech entrepreneur and best-selling author Vivek Ramaswamy.
WHO’S STILL FIGHTING TO MAKE THE STAGE AT THE FIRST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Roughly a half dozen Republican White House hopefuls are still aiming to make the stage. That list includes Suarez, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former CIA spy and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, Michigan businessman and quality control leader Perry Johnson, and Larry Elder, a former talk radio host who was a candidate for governor in the 2021 California recall election.
Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami speaks at former Republican Sen. Scott Brown’s “No BS Backyard BBQ” series with the White House contenders, on Aug. 16, 2023, in Rye, New Hampshire. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
Suarez has hit the donor criteria but is still short of…
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