(NewsNation) — Republican Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who recently announced a presidential run, enters a race that already has a number of candidates — including two currently seen as frontrunners: former President Donald Trump and current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
But that doesn’t bother him.
“Obviously, the former president is in the pole position in the Republican primary, there’s no doubt about that,” Suarez said Friday on “Morning in America.” “But if it’s going to be someone else, I’d rather be unknown and exciting than known and unexciting.”
Suarez joins Trump, DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as a 2024 GOP presidential candidate.
“America often chooses an underdog if they feel motivated, inspired and if that person can bring the country together,” Suarez said. “I think I’m in a unique position to do that.”
The 45-year-old has gained national attention for his efforts to lure companies to his city and attempts to turn Miami into the next Silicon Valley.
“I’m someone who’s young, who’s fit, who has a vision for the country, who can unify the country,” Suarez said. “I mean, no other candidate fits that profile.”
As the only Hispanic candidate, Suarez says he has the opportunity to talk “to a segment of our population that no one is talking to” on issues such as immigration.
Suarez said while he sees the need to secure the border, and said the number of people coming to the United States illegally “is creating a crisis,” he also wants to turn legal immigration into an asset, “not a liability.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.