Francis Suarez in Iowa urges candidates to ‘drop out’ if they don’t make debate

GOP presidential candidate and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez during a campaign stop at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines argued that candidates should “drop out” of the 2024 primary if they don’t meet the criteria for the first debate.

“I agree that if you can’t meet the minimum thresholds, you shouldn’t be trying to take the time involved away from being productive,” the longshot candidate told reporters on Friday, echoing comments he made earlier this month.

“I don’t think candidates should just sort of linger around if they don’t have a credible path,” he added.

Suarez’s remarks come even as he has yet to meet the requirements set by the Republican National Committee (RNC) for the first GOP debate in Milwaukee later this month.

In order to secure a spot, candidates must have at least 1 percent support between July 1 and Aug. 21 in three well-known national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls and have at least 40,000 total donors with at least 200 in 20 states.

While Suarez, 45, has met the donor requirement, he has yet to clinch the polling. The Florida mayor argued that the polling requirements are unfair for relatively unknown candidates like himself.

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“I’m running against [people] who have been national figures for years,” Suarez said. “I’ve been a national figure for 60 days.

“So, fortunately for me, you’re sort of new so you have a different threshold, a different timeframe and we’re going to have to compete at the same level,” he continued.

Still, he told reporters he was confident he would meet the criteria.