(The Center Square) – Hillsborough County has a new state attorney who Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday will “right the ship” as the lead prosecutor in one of the state’s largest counties.
DeSantis attended the swearing-in of State Attorney Suzy Lopez, who replaced Andrew Warren, on Tuesday for her first four-year term. Lopez won a bruising race with Warren in this past election, buoyed by the support of DeSantis and other Republicans.
Warren was sacked by DeSantis in 2022 over his refusal to prosecute cases related to abortion and sex change surgeries and low-level crimes. The Democrat ran in 2024 to recover his position as the state’s attorney after filing a lawsuit against the state trying to recover his job.
“The job of a prosecutor and the oath of office is to uphold the rule of law and enforce the law consistently, resolutely and unapologetically,” DeSantis said. “There’s no room for prosecutors to come in and pursue a political agenda and elevate that political agenda over the rule of law and holding criminals accountable.”
On hand to support Lopez was Pam Bondi, a former Hillsborough prosecutor, state attorney general and now President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney general. Also attending was Attorney General Ashley Moody, who is a former Hillsborough County judge. The two prosecutors swore in Lopez, who won her race 52%-47% on Nov. 5.
DeSantis joked that Tampa was a baseball town and that having Bondi, Moody and Lopez together as prosecutors at the local, state and federal levels represented a “Murderer’s Row” lineup like the 1927 New York Yankees.
Lopez choked back tears after taking the oath of office and thanking her family, supporters and members of the state attorney’s office.
“I promise to serve my hometown, Hillsborough County, as we pursue public safety together,” Lopez said. “Everyone wants the same thing and we want to live in a safe community. When needed, our prosecutors are going to enforce and follow the law. It’s that simple.”