TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — President Donald Trump officially put his support behind current Attorney General James Uthmeier, who hopes to keep his seat in office.

That election will happen next year, with a challenger now in the race hoping to replace him.

After being appointed by Gov. Gon DeSantis in February, Attorney General James Uthmeier filed for election to hold his new seat just days after he took his oath.
“We will use the office of the attorney general to punish criminals protect the innocent and to stand boldly by our brave law enforcement,” Uthmeier said.

Ever since taking office, Uthmeier sure has made a name for himself from ramping up investigations into sex crimes against children, to putting forth the south Florida illegal immigration detention facility Alligator Alcatraz, and helping Trump score a presidential library location in Miami.
Trump recently endorsed Uthmeier to continue his mission as attorney general in 2026, calling him an “American first warrior” and a true champion for MAGA.

And while Uthmeier is shaping up to be the GOP lead in the race, Democratic candidate Jose Javier Rodriguez is questioning his actions as AG so far.

“The job of the attorney general is to advocate for the people, to be the people’s lawyer. He has been doing the exact opposite,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez is an attorney and former state senator from Miami. He said rather than rooting out corruption, Uthmeier is at the root of a lot of corruption at the capitol, pointing to his alleged ties to the Hope Florida scandal.
“There’s a criminal investigation opened into a scheme that he was involved in where it looks like they took $10 million out of the Medicaid program that made their way into political campaigns,” Rodriguez said.

While that scrutiny could creep up on the campaign trial, Uthmeier has denied any wrongdoing.