DeSantis confident in State Attorney Suzy Lopez reelection, his replacement for Andrew Warren

REDINGTON SHORES, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis reaffirmed his confidence in appointed State Attorney Suzy Lopez, who is being challenged by Andrew Warren this November.

Warren formerly held Lopez’s position before being suspended by DeSantis in 2022. The seat, state attorney of the 13th Judicial Circuit, is located in the Hillsborough County area.

“My action was based on the constitutional authority I have as governor and it was appropriate what we did and it has made Hillsborough County safer as a result,” DeSantis said. “Criminals are held accountable in a much more significant way since Suzy Lopez has been the state attorney.”

“Talk to any of the sheriffs deputies, talk to sheriff himself about the change that’s happened,” he said. “Recycling criminals and letting them out, going easy, that doesn’t work.”

He predicted that by election day, the county would have more registered Republican than it does Democrats.

When asked if he would suspend Warren again if he were to win the election, he said he thinks it will “all work out” with Lopez winning the race.

He argued that ideological prosecutors like Warren do not adequately protect the community and the results of their actions are seen in several other states.

“We’ve seen a lot of bad ideas be implemented, we know what works, we know Florida’s crime rate’s at a 50 year low, we know that our retail theft is actually down since I’ve been governor, yet we just did great legislation to hold these folks accountable,” he said.

Warren announced his candidacy for his formerly held seat on social media, claiming that he was “illegally” pushed out of the position by DeSantis.

DeSantis previously called Warren’s record “troubling” and pointed to letters he signed promising not to enforce laws related to abortions, and saying he would not enforce potential bans on sex change operations for minors.