Rodríguez Blasts Uthmeier Over $10M Medicaid Diversion in AG Race

Rodríguez, a workers' rights attorney who officially launched his Democratic campaign for Florida Attorney General in March 2026, has seized on the so-called Hope Florida scandal as the centerpiece of his challenge to Uthmeier, who will face voters for the first time this November.[2][3] The case involves a grand jury empaneled in Leon County that investigated how the DeSantis administration secretly diverted $10 million from a Medicaid settlement into the Hope Florida Foundation, which funneled the taxpayer money into a political action committee controlled by Uthmeier.[3] That money was later used as part of Governor DeSantis' campaign against the 2024 marijuana amendment, raising questions about how state resources were deployed for partisan political purposes.[3][4] "The attorney general has never answered questions about what exactly was his role in this whole thing," said a critic of Uthmeier, noting he appeared to be involved from the settlement's inception and that his political committee received most of the diverted funds.[3] Uthmeier, who has not been indicted, has denied wrongdoing and declined to clarify whether he is attempting to block release of the grand jury report into the scandal.[1][3] Rodríguez's campaign has weaponized the controversy, with the candidate accusing Uthmeier of turning the attorney general's office into "political theater" rather than focusing on legitimate law enforcement priorities.[5] He has been endorsed by Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor in his bid to unseat the current AG.[2] The timing of Rodríguez's challenge places the Hope Florida matter directly before voters as Uthmeier seeks election to the office he was appointed to fill following Moody's 2024 appointment to the U.S. Senate.[3]