Andrew Warren won’t seek re-election to State Attorney, cites Ron DeSantis’ ‘illegal suspension’

Image via Andrew Warren.

Former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren will not seek re-election to the office he was twice elected to, citing a “high risk” that Gov. Ron DeSantis would simply just remove him from office again.

DeSantis suspended Warren in August 2022. Later that year, he also suspended Orlando-area State Attorney Monique Worrell. In both cases, DeSantis claimed the State Attorneys were failing to prosecute crimes. Warren had pledged not to prosecute individuals who violated the state’s abortion ban and also made statements saying he would avoid pursuing charges against those seeking gender-affirming care.

Warren had indicated in October that he may run to get his job back, opening a campaign account to park funds for a potential bid. But that possibility faded Monday when Warren announced he would not seek re-election despite what a press release described as DeSantis’ “illegal suspension.”

“Donald Trump said he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and get away with it. Ron DeSantis, trying to out-Trump Trump, shot democracy in the middle of our courthouse — and he’s gotten away with it,” Warren said in a statement.

A federal judge last January ruled that DeSantis had indeed violated Warren’s First Amendment rights, but Judge Robert Hinkle declined to reinstate Warren, citing the 11th Amendment to the Constitution, which limits federal autonomy over states.

The Florida Supreme Court also declined to reinstate him, with a decision in June arguing Warren waited too long to petition the court.

In an email to supporters, Warren said he had been planning “to run for re-election since the day” he was suspended.

“But the Governor has made clear that he does not care about the will of the voters or our democracy, and that he is willing to break state and federal law to keep me from serving as State Attorney,” Warren said in an email.

“Ron DeSantis broke our democracy, and it’s too fragile and too important to let him do it again,” Warren continued, adding that he “will take one for the team and not run.”

He said he will “continue to challenge the illegal suspension in court and fight to serve out my term on behalf of the community that elected me.”

Warren also shared a video message touting his accomplishments as State Attorney prior to his suspension, particularly noting the exoneration of Robert Duboise, a man wrongly convicted of rape and murder in 1983 who spent nearly 40 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.

Warren’s office’s Conviction Review Unit, along with the Innocence Project, began reinvestigating the case in 2018 and uncovered unused, preserved rape kit samples at the Hillsborough Medical Examiner’s Office, the DNA from which exonerated DuBoise in late 2020.

“The Robert Duboise case exemplifies what we accomplished. If I hadn’t been state attorney, DuBoise would have died in prison an innocent man, the actual perpetrators would have gotten away with the rapes and murders of two young women, and the victims’ families would not have the justice they deserve after 40 years,” Warren said.

Ultimately, Duboise was awarded $1.85 million from the state to compensate — at a rate of $50,000 per year — for the wrongful conviction.

“Every day we made tough decisions, and reasonable people can disagree over some of those choices. But we always did what we thought best for public safety, victims, and justice. We upheld the Constitution even when it was not convenient, and rather than exploiting problems in the system to inflate our conviction rate, we fixed them to maximize public safety. I stood up for what I believed in, our community’s values, and the rule of law,” Warren added.

Warren said that “because the courts have let (DeSantis’) illegal political stunt stand,” his potential re-election could be doomed from the start because the Governor “could suspend me again for whatever reason he wanted.”

“And then we would be right back where we are today, with an illegal, unqualified political appointee installed in the job,” he said

Warren is referring to now-State Attorney Suzy Lopez, whom DeSantis appointed to the job following Warren’s suspension. Lopez is now seeking election to the seat for which she was appointed, with backing from a host of local and state Republicans.

“I care about the State Attorney’s Office and this community too much to have that cloud of uncertainty hanging over us,” Warren said. “I care too much to have that office remain leaderless — with a political puppet in a position she didn’t earn and isn’t qualified to hold. So I won’t run for a position that I’ve won twice and would win again.”

Whether Lopez is qualified for the job may be subjective. Lopez earned her law degree from Suffolk University and worked as an attorney in the 2nd District Court of Appeal before becoming an Assistant State Attorney in the 13th Judicial Circuit. DeSantis appointed Lopez to serve as a County Judge in late 2021, before later appointing her to State Attorney in Hillsborough County.

So far, Lopez is the only candidate to file for the race. It’s not clear from Warren’s announcement whether Democrats have identified someone to run against her, but if no one else files before the April qualifying deadline, Lopez would be elected without opposition.

“As your State Attorney, I remain focused on keeping Hillsborough safe. I will continue to fight for crime victims and their families. I will continue to work hand-in-hand with law enforcement. The people of Hillsborough County deserve a State Attorney who will follow and uphold the law.  That is the kind of State Attorney I have been and will continue to be,” Lopez said in a statement responding to Warren’s decision.

Hillsborough County Democratic Party Chair Ione Townsend told the Tampa Bay Times she expects there to be a challenger, but couldn’t say who that might be.