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Election 2024: Suzy Lopez, Andrew Warren square off in race for Hillsborough County State Attorney

By FOX 13 News Staff
Updated  October 4, 2024 1:38pm EDT
2024 Election
FOX 13 News

TAMPA, Fla. - Current Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez is trying to keep her job in November as she takes on her predecessor Andrew Warren, who was ousted by Governor Ron DeSantis. 

In August 2022, DeSantis suspended Warren for ‘neglect of duty’ and appointed Lopez, a county court judge and former assistant state attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit, as Hillsborough County’s top prosecutor. 

READ: Hillsborough State Attorney candidates trade barbs at Tampa luncheon

Who is Suzy Lopez?

Lopez is a Tampa native and Hillsborough County’s first female state attorney.

Before she was a county judge, Lopez was a prosecutor at the state attorney’s office for 17 years and handled some of the biggest cases.

"I was born and raised in this town," Lopez said in a previous interview with FOX 13. "I love Tampa. I want our community to be safe. I want our children to be safe, and I want our courts to be fair."

FOX 13 sat down with Lopez shortly after she was hand-picked by the governor for the role. 

Shortly after taking the job, she set a new tone for the office. She sent  a memo to her team announcing plans to roll back certain policies Warren had in place. Lopez stated, ‘It’s time to get back to basics."

READ: ‘I am tough’: Meet the newly appointed Hillsborough State Attorney replacing ousted Andrew Warren

Over the past two years, Lopez has appeared at many press conferences alongside law enforcement leaders vowing to hold suspects accountable for their actions.  

She put the death penalty on the table for those accused of heinous crimes and touts the sentences imposed on convicted criminals on her social media. 

Lopez says she has implemented strategies and policies to prevent gun violence with a focus on career offenders. 

In August 2024, Lopez announced stark crime decreases, stating that crime in Hillsborough County has gone down 15%, sexual battery is down 46% and robbery is down 27% this year alone.   

In Tampa, Lopez said that there has been a 10% reduction in overall crime and violent crime with a firearm is down 11%.

Lopez says she meets with all murder victim’s families to ensure they have the agency’s full support throughout the entire legal process.

Who is Andrew Warren?

Andrew Warren was elected as Hillsborough County’s top prosecutor in 2016, beating out 16-year Republican incumbent Mark Ober by less than one percentage point. 

Warren was re-elected in 2020, defeating Republican challenger Mike Perotti with 54% of the vote. 

Warren said there was a 32% reduction in crime in Hillsborough County while he was in office.

READ: Presidential election 2024: Here’s your Bay Area voter’s guide

In November 2018, Warren created the Conviction Review Unit to identify, rectify and prevent wrongful convictions. 

The CRU, in conjunction with the Innocence Project, led to the exoneration of Robert Duboise, a man who spent 37 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit. 

In January 2024, a year-and-a-half after being suspended, Warren announced he would not run for top prosecutor because he feared that if he won re-election, the governor would suspend him again and appoint his opponent to the role. 

Three months later, he had a change of heart and announced he would seek re-election. Warren defeated defense attorney Elizabeth Martinez Strauss in the primary election to secure a spot on the November ballot.

Why was Andrew Warren suspended?

The governor suspended Warren in August 2022, saying the prosecutor violated his oath of office and had been soft on crime.  

The Florida governor said Warren's suspension stems from three main issues:

  • Warren's promise not to prosecute women or providers who violate the state's 15-week abortion ban.
  • His promise not to prosecute those who provide gender re-assignment surgery for minors
  • His general policy of not prosecuting minor or low-level first-time offenses for certain violations

Warren was among 90 prosecutors from across the country that signed on to the pledge after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court. The governor also points towards Warren’s commitment not to criminalize minors who have sex change operations.

Warren sued DeSantis claiming his ousting was an "illegal political stunt." 

A judge found that the governor was wrong to fire Warren, but said the court lacked the authority to reinstall him as state attorney. Warren appealed the case. 

The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the twice-elected Democrat waited too long to bring the case. 

In January, Warren scored a win in the fight to get his job back. An appeals court found Warren’s statements were protected by the First Amendment, and a lower court has the authority to reinstate him. 

However, he was not reinstated. 

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