Dave Aronberg, Sean Shaw endorse José Javier Rodríguez for Attorney General

Former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg and ex-state Rep. Sean Shaw are getting behind fellow Democrat José Javier Rodríguez’s bid for Attorney General.

They add to several other former Florida leaders supporting Rodríguez’s campaign.

Aronberg, who also served as a state Senator, said Rodríguez brings the independence and judgment the office needs at a time of waning public trust. He framed his endorsement around the core mission of the Attorney General’s Office: enforcing the law without political influence.

“I’ve spent my career holding powerful people accountable and investigating abuses of power when the rule of law is ignored,” Aronberg said in a statement.

“Florida needs an Attorney General who understands the job is not about politics, but about enforcing the law.”

Shaw, a former Insurance Consumer Advocate who served one term in the House and also ran for Attorney General, echoed that theme, arguing Florida needs an Attorney General unafraid to confront corporate and political misconduct.

He said Rodríguez has the legal background and resolve required to protect consumers, defend civil rights and enforce the law evenly.

“When I ran for Attorney General, I said Florida needed a different approach — one that stands up to special interests, defends civil rights, protects our kids, and fights for everyday Floridians,” he said. “I believed then, and I believe now, that if you’re doing wrong, you ought to be afraid, because the Attorney General should be willing to hold everyone accountable, no matter who you are.”

The new endorsements add to others from former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, former Attorney General Bob Butterworth and former Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who served in the Legislature from 2006 to 2010.

Rodríguez said in a statement that Aronberg’s backing carries particular weight, given his reputation as a prosecutor willing to challenge entrenched interests, and thanked Shaw for his confidence, noting the ex-lawmaker’s long-standing advocacy for families and consumers.

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.”

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.