Dan Gelber endorses José Javier Rodríguez for Attorney General

When it comes to who should serve as Florida’s top legal authority, no one is better suited than former Sen. José Javier Rodríguez, according to ex-Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.

Gelber, a lawyer and former state lawmaker who served for eight years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and six years as Miami Beach Mayor, is the latest person to endorse Rodríguez’s campaign for Attorney General.

“I’ve served in every level of government, as a federal prosecutor, state legislator, and a local mayor. I’ve prosecuted corrupt public officials who serve themselves rather than the public and in Tallahassee I saw what happens when people assume the trust of an office and forget for whom they work,” Gelber said in a statement.

“My full-throated endorsement of José is because I know him very well, and I know how amazing it would be to have someone of his unimpeachable character and substantial intellect fighting for everyday Floridians in the nest of vipers that has become Tallahassee.”

The nod from Gelber, announced Wednesday, adds to another from former Attorney General and Broward Sheriff Bob Butterworth and Latino Victory Fund.

Rodríguez said in a statement that he is proud to have Gelber’s support.

“Dan Gelber understands what it takes to lead with integrity and seriousness in public office,” he said. “He has spent his career focused on making government work better for the people it serves.”

A labor lawyer from Miami, Rodríguez served in the House from 2012 to 2016 and in the Senate from 2016 to 2020, when he narrowly lost his re-election bid in a so-called “ghost candidate” scheme that has since led to the criminal conviction of its main conspirator.

In 2024, he was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor under ex-President Joe Biden after years of delays.

He launched his campaign for Attorney General in early June 2025, vowing to take on the “corrupt power brokers who want to keep things as they are and keep increasing our costs.”

As of Monday afternoon, he is one of two Democrats — the other being former state prosecutor Jim Lewis — running to supplant appointed Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier, who faces a Primary challenge from litigator Steven Leskovich.