Campaign Almanac: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez suspends presidential bid

The expansive field of candidates running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination has started to shrink.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced Tuesday that he is suspending his presidential campaign.

Suarez, in a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, said running for president “has been one of the greatest honors of my life.”

Suarez wrote that he looked forward to sharing stories about Miami’s success with economic growth, city budgeting and violent crime.

"The next President must play a major role in getting America's cities back on track to safety, prosperity and a better quality of life for all,“ Suarez wrote. ”While I have decided to suspend my campaign for President, my commitment to making this a better nation for every American remains.“

The move comes after Suarez failed to meet the requirements set by the Republican National Committee to make the first presidential primary debate last week in Milwaukee.

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Miami mayor trying to become better known in Iowa

Suarez launched his long-shot bid in mid-June, and made few stops in Iowa. He spoke at the Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines in late July. He also participated in Gov. Kim Reynolds’ “Fair-Side Chats” and the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month, where he made his way around the fairgrounds largely unrecognized by the massive throng.

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As a presidential candidate, Suarez said he would be able to attract Hispanic, young and urban voters.

“If we win (those voters), it’s game over,” he said at the Iowa State Fair. “I’ve already done that. I have a proven track record of connecting with those voters.”

Suarez, though, told reporters that if he didn't make the debate stage, it could spell the end of his campaign.

Eminem tells Ramaswamy to leave the rapping to the Real Slim Shady

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After creating a viral moment at the Iowa State Fair by performing a rendition of rapper Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” the Real Slim Shady has asked Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to sit down.

Music licenser BMI, on behalf of the Grammy-winning hip-hop artist, sent a letter to Ramaswamy’s campaign instructing it to cease and desist using his music on the campaign trail.

According to an Aug. 23 letter sent to the Ramaswamy campaign reported by the Daily Mail, BMI will “consider any performance of the Eminem Works by the Vivek 2024 campaign from this date forward to be a material breach of the Agreement for which BMI reserves all rights and remedies with respect thereto.”

Ramaswamy concluded a “Fair-Side Chat” with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Iowa State Fair with an impromptu performance of the popular Eminem song “Lose Yourself,” rapping a verse as the audience cheered him on. Ramaswamy told Reynolds at the event the song was his favorite to be introduced to at speaking events. Politico reported last month Ramaswamy used to perform the song often at Harvard as his rap alter ego, “Da Vek.”

A campaign spokesperson told The Washington Post Ramaswamy “just got on the stage and cut loose.”

The campaign said it will comply with the request to stop using Eminem’s music.

“To the American people’s chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the Real Slim Shady,” Ramaswamy’s spokesperson said.

‘Farmers for Trump’ coalition grows

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Former President Donald Trump’s campaign announced Tuesday it has added more than 100 members to its “Farmers for Trump” coalition announced last month in Iowa.

“(T)hese farmers and agriculture leaders serve as the bedrock of many of Iowa’s rural communities and will help propel President Trump to a decisive Iowa caucus win on January 15,” according to a statement from the Trump campaign.

Among the Iowa agricultural leaders supporting Trump’s bid for the Republican nomination for president are State Rep. Mike Sexton, a Republican farmer from Rockwell City and chairman of the Iowa House Agriculture Committee, and state Rep. Heather Hora, a Republican and farmer from Washington, Iowa.

Sexton and Hora serve as co-chairs of Iowa Farmers for Trump, along with state Rep. Derek Wulf, a Republican and farmer from Hudson; David Kerr, a farmer and former state lawmaker from Morning Sun; Jeremy Davis, a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican and farmer from Wilton, who serves as adviser to the trump campaign.

“President Trump protected Iowa’s critical ethanol industry, opened international markets for our agriculture products, stopped China from taking advantage of our farming communities, and battled federal bureaucrats seeking to restrict the rights of landowners,” Wulf, vice chairman of the Iowa House Agriculture Committee, said in a statement.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau