Andrew Warren talks about his decision to run for the office again

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hillsborough County’s ousted state attorney Andrew Warren opened up about his decision to run for the office again in an interview with News Channel 8.

The twice-elected Democrat was suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022.

The governor claimed Warren was refusing to uphold certain laws, including Florida’s restrictions on abortion. Warren, however, called the decision “political theatre.”

“I was suspended because of an illegal, unlawful, political stunt by the governor,” he said.

When asked about the decision in 2022, DeSantis doubled down saying, “well, the conduct that he has done has fell below the standard that’s required of the Florida constitution.”

“When you’re saying you’re not going to enforce certain laws you don’t like, that’s a neglect of duty,” he continued. “I have to do this, that’s my job to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed.”

Warren refuted the decision saying, “I talked about laws that I didn’t think were good in terms of making our community safer.”

“I criticize laws that I thought undermined public safety and that violated peoples constitutional rights,” he continued. “I’m supposed to do that.”

“It’s my constitutional right, and it’s my obligation as an elected official to speak out on issues of public importance.”

Warren claims the suspension violated his freedom of speech and cannot be the basis for his removal.

“My suspension was unjust, because it was part of a political stunt,” he said. “The governor didn’t have the power to suspend me, and he violated my constitutional rights by suspending me for speaking out on issues of importance primarily on a woman’s right to choose.”

“What is your message to the person who says it’s not your place to have an opinion on these laws or decide which ones you enforce?” News Channel 8 reporter Nicole Rogers asked Warren.

“They should go read the court opinions because the other side continues to tell these lies about what I’ve said, and what I’ve done because the truth is really inconvenient to their fictional narrative,” Warren responded. “The truth is, I did my job and I did it well.”

“The truth is that we made Hillsborough County the safest large county in the state and the truth is that the governor is the one who broke the law,” he continued. “I never did anything wrong not a hint of misconduct like the court said.”

“Would you still enforce laws you don’t agree with?” Rogers asked.

“I will do the same thing that I’ve always done as a federal prosecutor and as your state attorney,” he responded. “I will enforce the law and exercise my discretion based on the facts and circumstances of every case by to make Hillsborough County the safest possible place to raise a family.”

Back in January, Warren announced he would not be running for re-election.

At the time, he said if he won, the governor would simply just remove him again.

So what changed?

“What changed is that appellate court opinion that upheld the law,” Warren explained. “By affirming the illegality of the suspension and that the court has the power to reinstate me, the court made clear that the governor can’t just throw out peoples votes for whatever reason he cooks up and that the will of the voters matters.”

So Warren will be running again in November.

But, the Democrat said he wants the courts to give him his job back now.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” he explained. “It’s frustrating because this was a political stunt and an illegal one from the beginning.”

“It’s frustrating because two courts have essentially ruled in my favor, but I’ve yet to be reinstated but the most frustrating thing is that I’m being denied and the voters are being denied their choice of state attorney,” he concluded.

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