A debate between suspended Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren and Suzy Lopez, the governor's appointee to the job, became a little edgy Friday.
The event is setting the tone for the November election.
It didn't take long for Lopez, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis two years ago after he suspended Warren, to rip into her opponent.
Just a few minutes into the Tampa Tiger Bay Club debate in Ybor City, she said this after noting she took an oath to defend the Constitution.
“You may as well just take that oath and quite frankly wipe a dog's rear end with it, because that oath is what we are here to do.”Suzy Lopez on Andrew Warren taking an oath to uphold the Constitution.
“My predecessor also took that oath. But in failing to prosecute entire categories of crime and signing a pledge that he would not prosecute certain categories of crime,” she said. “You may as well just take that oath and quite frankly wipe a dog's rear end with it, because that oath is what we are here to do.”
Lopez says this race is about who will keep Hillsborough County safer.
“When I became the state attorney, it was my mission to clean up messes that had been left by my predecessor. I have rebuilt our relationships with our law enforcement partners. Those relationships were once broken. I've given a voice to victims and their families and I have held offenders accountable.”
DeSantis suspended Warren in 2022 after he pledged not to prosecute new state laws on abortion and transgender health care.
Federal courts have since found that DeSantis violated the constitution by removing Warren from office.
Warren had earlier announced he would not run again, saying the governor could just once again suspend him. He said he changed his mind about running for reelection after a federal appeals court ruled that a federal judge could reinstate him to office. A decision from that judge has not yet been issued.
Warren introduced himself to cheers at the Hotel Haya as "still the duly-elected state attorney."
"I wasn't illegally appointed because of my politics and I was reelected with support from Democrats, independents and Republicans because we had tremendous success.”Andrew Warren
“Voters elected me because of my vision and my values, I wasn't illegally appointed because of my politics and I was reelected with support from Democrats, independents and Republicans because we had tremendous success,” he said.
“Twice, this community put their faith in my vision of how to build a safer community by aggressively prosecuting the crimes that pose the greatest threats, by balancing punishment and accountability with prevention and rehabilitation,” he said. “We've had tremendous success working with law enforcement and no controversy until the governor's political stunt threw out your votes, broke the law and jeopardized our democracy.”
Warren will face Tampa lawyer Elizabeth Martinez Strauss in the Democratic primary in August. Lopez, a Republican, is unopposed.
