Francis Suarez

Francis Suarez

Mayor of Miami

Tenure

2017 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

7

Prior offices

Miami Board of Commissioners District 4

---

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 2, 2021

Education

High school

La Salle High School

Bachelor's

Florida International University

Law

University of Florida

Personal

Profession

Business owner and attorney

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official Instagram

Official YouTube

Personal Twitter

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Personal TikTok

Francis Suarez is the Mayor of Miami in Florida. He assumed office on November 15, 2017. His current term ends in 2025.

Suarez (Republican Party) ran for election for President of the United States. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican convention on July 15, 2024.

Suarez announced that he was running for president of the United States on June 15, 2023. Suarez suspended his campaign on August 29, 2023.

At the time of his 2017 run for mayor, Suarez was the District 4 representative on the Miami Board of Commissioners. First elected to that position in 2009, he won re-election unopposed in 2011 and 2015.

Suarez's father, Xavier Suarez, had previously served as the mayor of Miami from 1985 to 1993 and 1997 to 1998.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Suarez earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Florida International University and a J.D. from the University of Florida. His professional experience includes working as an attorney with the law firm GrayRobinson and as the founder and CEO of Edge Title Company.

Elections

2024

Suarez announced his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential primary on June 15, 2023. Suarez suspended his campaign on August 29, 2023. Click the links below to read more about the 2024 presidential election:

• Francis Suarez presidential campaign, 2024
• Presidential candidates, 2024
• Democratic presidential nomination, 2024
• Republican presidential nomination, 2024

2021

See also: Mayoral election in Miami, Florida (2021)

General election

General election for Mayor of Miami

Incumbent Francis Suarez defeated Max Martinez, Marie Exantus, Anthony Dutrow, and Francisco Pichel in the general election for Mayor of Miami on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Francis Suarez (Nonpartisan)	78.6	21,485
		Max Martinez (Nonpartisan)	11.6	3,167
		Marie Exantus (Nonpartisan)	4.3	1,187
	Submit photo	Anthony Dutrow (Nonpartisan)	3.7	1,009
	Submit photo	Francisco Pichel (Nonpartisan)	1.8	482

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,330
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mayra Joli (Nonpartisan)

2017

See also: Mayoral election in Miami, Florida (2017) and Municipal elections in Miami, Florida (2017)

The city of Miami, Florida, held a general election for mayor and the District 3 and District 4 seats on the board of commissioners on November 7, 2017. The District 3 race advanced to a runoff election on November 21, 2017, because none of the general election candidates secured a majority. The District 5 seat was also up for election in 2017, but incumbent Keon Hardemon won re-election automatically when no other candidates filed to run against him. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was September 23, 2017.

Four candidates, including District 4 Commissioner Francis Suarez, ran to succeed term-limited Mayor Tomás P. Regalado. Three filed to replace Suarez in District 4, and seven competed for term-limited Commissioner Frank Carollo's District 3 seat. Francis Suarez defeated Cynthia Mason Jaquith, Williams Armbrister Sr., and Christian Canache in the general election for mayor of Miami.

Mayor of Miami, General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Francis Suarez	85.81%	21,856
Cynthia Mason Jaquith	5.47%	1,394
Williams Armbrister Sr.	5.47%	1,392
Christian Canache	3.25%	829
Total Votes		25,471
Source: Miami-Dade County Elections, "November 7, 2017 - Fall Municipal Elections," accessed November 22, 2017

Click [show] on the right for information about other elections in which this candidate ran.
2015 See also: Miami, Florida municipal elections, 2015 The city of Miami, Florida, held elections for the city council on November 3, 2015. A runoff took place on November 17, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was September 19, 2015. In the race for District 4, incumbent Francis Suarez was unchallenged in the general election.

Campaign themes

2021

Francis Suarez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

Suarez's campaign website listed the following priorities:

“	IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY Francis understands that keeping our streets and neighborhoods safe requires building and maintaining the trust between our community and police force. To accomplish this, Francis led the fight to hire more police officers in the City of Miami, while at the same time advocating for the use of police body cameras. FINDING TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS NOW As Vice Chairman of the Transportation Planning Organization, Francis has taken a countywide leadership role in advocating for transportation solutions that can meet our community’s needs now and in the future. Francis spearheaded the development of the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan, a proposal that advances six rapid transit corridors across Miami-Dade County. Thanks to his advocacy in Tallahassee, the SMART Plan is now eligible to receive more state funding, making implementation of the SMART Plan substantially easier. Francis has also been a proponent of expanding the city’s successful trolley program, which moves thousands of residents and visitors across Miami every month. EXPANDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES In Miami, we have been victims of our own success. We have seen how our city has grown at an unprecedented rate over the last two decades, as investors from around the world have come to our city to work on different projects and developments. Unfortunately, in some instances, these new buildings and homes are unaffordable to many in Miami. We don't have enough housing that is affordable for students, young couples or for our seniors, who live on fixed incomes and are some of the most vulnerable members of our community. As commissioner, Francis has worked hard to promote projects that can include affordable and workforce housing into their developments. As mayor, he will continue working with the private sector through incentives and other mechanisms in order to meet the challenge of affordable housing in Miami. A PROVEN LEADER THAT LISTENS AND CARES Francis believes that in today’s world, accessibility shouldn’t be a barrier between elected officials and the residents they serve. As Commissioner, he has made it a point to give out his cell phone to any resident that needs his assistance. As Mayor, Francis will continue to serve in an open and transparent fashion, meeting with residents throughout the city and listening to their concerns. DEFENDING OUR COMMUNITY'S MOST VULNERABLE Francis has always focused on protecting our community. In 2013, he pushed the City of Miami to file a lawsuit against the big banks whose predatory lending practices helped cause the City’s foreclosure crisis. Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that cities have standing to sue the banks for discriminatory mortgage lending practices under the Fair Housing Act. This was a major win for the City of Miami and its residents. Francis has pledged to continue moving forward with the lawsuit to ensure we can redress the damage and injustice done to our residents. PUTTING AN END TO RED LIGHT CAMERAS Since he was elected, Francis has fought to eliminate the city’s red light camera program. Red light cameras unfairly punish the community’s most needy with fines and penalties, while making it more dangerous to drive on our streets. Francis will continue pushing to put an end to a system that only benefits red-light camera special interests at the expense of our residents.	”
—Francis Suarez's campaign website, (2017)

Noteworthy events

Events and activity following the death of George Floyd

See also: Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020

Suarez was mayor of Miami during the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, when events and activity took place in cities across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. Events in Miami, Florida, began on Friday, May 29, 2020, at the Freedom Torch. The same day, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez (R) issued a countywide curfew, which included the city. On May 30, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) issued a separate curfew for the city. The national guard was not deployed over the weekend.

To read more about the death of George Floyd and subsequent events, click [show] to the right.

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers arrested Floyd, a Black man, after receiving a call that he had made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, arrived at the scene and pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck as Floyd laid face-down on the street in handcuffs. Both the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy conducted by Floyd's family ruled Floyd's death as a homicide stemming from the incident. The medical examiner's report, prepared by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, said that it was "not a legal determination of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process." On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in relation to Floyd's death. Floyd's death was filmed and shared widely, leading to activity regarding racism, civil rights, and police use of force. The first events took place in Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 26. An event in Chicago organized by Chance the Rapper and Rev. Michael Pfleger took place the same day, making it the first major city outside of Minneapolis to host an event in response to Floyd's death.

Coronavirus pandemic
Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. Political responses overviewState reopening plansDocumenting America's Path to RecoveryElection changesChanges to vote-by-mail and absentee voting proceduresFederal responsesState responsesState executive ordersStay-at-home ordersMultistate agreementsNon-governmental reopening plansEvictions and foreclosures policiesTravel restrictionsEnacted state legislationState legislative session changesSchool closuresState court closuresInmate releasesLocal government responsesDiagnosed or quarantined politiciansBallot measure changesArguments about government responsesThe 1918 influenza pandemicPandemic Response Accountability CommitteeUnemployment filingsLawsuitsBallotpedia's polling on the coronavirus pandemicSubmit

Tested positive for coronavirus on March 13, 2020

See also: Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

Suarez tested positive for coronavirus on March 13, 2020, and entered isolation. On March 31, 2020, Suarez announced he tested negative for a second time and ended his quarantine.

COVID-19, also known as coronavirus disease 2019, is the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The first confirmed case of the disease in the United States was announced on January 21, 2020. For more on responses to the coronavirus outbreak, click here.

See also

2021 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Officeholder

Mayor of Miami

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Personal

Twitter

Instagram

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Mayor of Miami 2017-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Miami Board of Commissioners District 4 2009-2017	Succeeded by -