Francis Suarez, with GOP debate deadline looming, makes big-city pitch at Iowa State Fair

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, up against a tight deadline to make the presidential debate stage, pitched himself as a big-city solution to small-town Iowans at the State Fair Friday.

Suarez has around a week and a half to qualify for the first Republican debate in Milwaukee, aiming to continue accruing donors and reaching a polling threshold to appear alongside his competitors.

His campaign has taken unconventional measures — including entering donors into a lottery for tickets to see Miami's soccer team featuring Lionel Messi, and offering $20 gift cards for those who donate $1.

Suarez told Iowans at the Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox that he was unlike the rest of the field — uniquely capable of attracting Hispanic, urban and young voters to the Republican Party in a general election.

But Suarez may not make to Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses — if he doesn't make the debate stage, he acknowledged Friday, it could spell the end of his campaign.

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"I agree that if you can't meet the minimum thresholds, you shouldn't be trying to take time and volume away from people," Suarez told reporters after his speech.

But he demurred when asked by the Register if he would end his own campaign if he missed the debate stage — saying he "feels confident" that he would meet the requirements over the next 10 days.

Suarez faces a steep uphill battle in a field that includes two Florida residents polling higher than him, former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. It will take "incremental" progress as he pushes a platform focused on tapping into a changing U.S. demographic and a strong economy.

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When he talks about Miami, he reminds the audience of the days of "Miami Vice," where homicide rates were higher and the city's economy struggled to stay afloat. He touts a city that now sees significant tourism income, declined to "defund the police" and has balanced a budget.

His electoral victories in the city, he argues, demonstrate his ability to attract voters that Republicans have struggled to secure — Hispanics, young people and city dwellers.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.