TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez won re-election to her post Tuesday, defeating former State Attorney Andrew Warren. 

Lopez collected 52% of the vote compared to Warren's 47% to win an elected term as State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit.

DeSantis suspended Warren in 2022 over the prosecutor’s signing of statements that said he would not pursue criminal charges against seekers or providers of abortion or gender transition treatments, as well as his policies about not charging people with certain minor crimes.

Warren accused DeSantis of suspending him for political reasons and actions protected by the First Amendment, and took him to court, saying the governor did not have a legal right to take him out of an elected office.

Warren filed a lawsuit that was dismissed in early 2023, but earlier this year, a federal appellate court vacated that ruling.

The governor’s office said after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court ruling in favor of Warren that it sets a “dangerous precedent” that could permit politically motivated prosecutors to ignore laws they oppose.