Andrew Warren (D) defeated Elizabeth Martinez Strauss (D) in the Democratic primary for Hillsborough County, Florida, State Attorney on August 20, 2024

Andrew Warren (D) defeated Elizabeth Martinez Strauss (D) in the Democratic primary for Hillsborough County State Attorney in Florida on Aug. 20, 2024.

The primary took place after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) removed Warren from office in August 2022. The governor suspended Warren after Warren signed a pledge not to prosecute crimes related to abortion or gender transitions. In January 2023, a U.S. district court judge ruled that Warren’s action was protected under the First Amendment but that the court did not have the power to reinstate Warren. A three-judge panel found in January 2024 that the court did have the power to reinstate Warren and remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether the governor’s suspension of Warren had violated his rights. As of Aug. 21, 2024, the trial court had not ruled on whether to reinstate Warren.

Strauss was, at the time of the election, a defense attorney and former prosecutor. Strauss said she was running because Warren was too risky of a candidate given his past suspension: “Never make a bet you can’t afford to lose. Our county cannot afford to gamble on this election.” Strauss said she had the broadest experience: “Those prosecutors don’t have the perspective of having the defense side and most defense lawyers don’t have the perspective of being on the prosecution side, but I do, and I think I should be Tampa’s next State Attorney.”

Warren was an attorney and former federal prosecutor. Warren was elected state attorney in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Warren ran on his record: “In 2020, you re-elected me to serve as your State Attorney because you believed in my vision and it worked. Crime went down 30%…we made Hillsborough the safest large county in Florida. But on August 4, 2022, Ron DeSantis threw out your vote.” Warren said he was running “to protect our values, for a woman’s right to choose, for a fair and just system, and above all for freedom and democracy.”

Warren will face incumbent Suzy Lopez (R). In an interview with the Florida Phoenix, political analyst Barry Edwards said the county had shifted politically since Warren’s 2020 win, referencing changes in party registration as well as the results of the 2022 elections: “We’ve seen the performance of the county in 2022 — all the countywide and statewide Democrat candidates got wiped out…the county has changed to a red-performing county.”

The Florida Thirteenth Circuit State Attorney is the chief prosecutor for Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, which includes Hillsborough County and its incorporated cities—including Tampa. As of the 2024 election, the incumbent oversees “132 Assistant State Attorneys and 160 victim advocates, investigators, administrators, paralegals, receptionists, and other support staff” with responsibility for prosecution and crime prevention programs.

A state attorney is an official elected to serve as the lead prosecutor for a specific jurisdiction. The office’s responsibilities include managing the jurisdiction’s prosecutors, setting department-wide guidelines for prosecutors to follow, and direct management of individual high-profile prosecutions. Prosecutors are responsible for deciding whether or not to bring criminal charges when wrongdoing is alleged, as well as for proving the charges in court, if necessary, and for recommending a sentence in the event a defendant is found guilty. This office is equivalent to the positions of district attorney, state’s/commonwealth’s attorney, county/city attorney, solicitor, circuit attorney, or prosecuting attorney found in other jurisdictions.