Suzy Lopez sworn in for 1st full term as Hillsborough County State Attorney after years-long battle

State Attorney Suzy Lopez sworn in for first full term

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez was sworn in for her first full term on Tuesday, with Governor Ron DeSantis among those in attendance.

It was the governor who appointed Lopez to the position in August 2022 after he suspended Andrew Warren, saying Warren violated his oath of office and was soft on crime.

WATCH: Suzy Lopez to remain Hillsborough County State Attorney

Lopez and Warren later faced off in the November 2024 election, with Lopez getting 52.7% of the vote, making her the first woman to be elected as Hillsborough County's lead prosecutor.

Suzy Lopez is sworn in as Hillsborough County State Attorney on Jan. 7, 2025.

At the ceremony in Tampa on Tuesday, DeSantis appeared to criticize Warren without mentioning his name, while praising Lopez.

"There is no room for prosecutors who come in and pursue a political agenda and elevate that political agenda over the rule of law and holding criminals accountable," DeSantis said. "The inmates are not running the asylum in Hillsborough County."

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Lopez has been hearing for two years that Andrew Warren is the elected state attorney.

On Tuesday, the story changed.

"I'm the elected one now," Lopez said.

Lopez spoke moments after being sworn in by U.S. Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi, who previously served as the state's attorney general.

Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez speaks moments after being sworn in on Jan. 7, 2025.

"I promise to serve my hometown, Hillsborough County, as we pursue public safety together," Lopez said.

Lopez also pledged "humility and respect for our laws" during her speech, echoing the governor's message.

"I will work hard every day to make you proud of this office and to make you proud of me for believing in me," Lopez said.

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In front of an audience of local political bigwigs that included State Attorney General Ashley Moody, Former Florida Attorney General and current nominee to be United States Attorney General Pam Bondi and her mother, Lopez took the reins of a job that had been given to her before, that she had earned now.

"Everyone wants the same thing," she said. "We want to live in a safe community," Lopez said.

As DeSantis noted, Lopez won more votes than any candidate in Hillsborough County for her office and across all elections.

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It's a vindication for her and for DeSantis, who took a risk in suspending Andrew Warren in August 2022.

Though Warren disagreed, DeSantis insisted Warren had been soft on crime and let his political feelings, particularly on abortion, feed into his role.

"Under Suzy, we can say definitively the inmates are not running the asylum in Hillsborough County," said DeSantis.

The same strategy backfired for DeSantis in Orange County, where the voters gave a state attorney he had suspended a new term.

But in Hillsborough, which has seen its county commission flip from blue to red and where registered Republicans are nearly even with Democrats, Lopez now holds a seat that, until Warren, had been held by Republican Mark Ober for four terms.

"It's very humbling," Lopex said. "We worked very hard, and it was very validating that our message resonated with voters."

Lopez added, "We want safe neighborhoods. We want people to feel safe. And they chose that they wanted to be safer with Suzy."

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