Sean Shaw

Sean Shaw has big family shoes to fill – his father, Leander Shaw, Jr., was the first African-American chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Back then, the state had only a few Black lawyers, period. If Sean Shaw wins this race, he’ll be the first Black attorney general in Florida’s history.

Shaw is a former public defender, which, as we explained in our coverage of the circuit court judges in August, can say a lot about his idea of justice – public defenders generally represent those accused of a crime who can’t afford an attorney, and many feel compelled to do so because of systemic problems in the criminal justice system.

“I’m going to be a very aggressive attorney general and go after anyone in Florida,” he told the Miami Herald. “If you’re doing wrong, you ought to be afraid I’m going to sue you. … My goal is to hold everyone accountable, no matter who you are — and that’s something the people of Florida haven’t seen.”

Where he stands on Trump and the federal government:

The state attorney general can have a lot of influence over the way federal laws are implemented in the state (case in point: Pam Bondi and the Affordable Care Act). Shaw has vowed to stand against President Trump.

“The president is not only inept, he’s prejudiced, he’s a narcissist, he’s angry, he’s not fit to be president,” Shaw told the Herald. “State attorney generals are a line of defense.”

He has also promised to investigate Trump’s business practices here in Florida, out of concern about Russian links.

The Affordable Care Act:

Shaw says he would pull Florida out of the lawsuit filed by several state attorney generals to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

Guns:

Shaw says that we will push for an end to Florida’s “Stand your Ground” law and pursue “common sense gun safety laws,” including overturning the law that prevents municipalities from making their own laws.

Prosecutorial philosophy:

Shaw has vowed to be an “aggressive” attorney general and sees his position as a way to bring some changes to Florida through his choices of what he will prosecute.

Other priorities:

Shaw has highlighted prosecuting corporate and political malfeasance, especially in order to protect consumers and workers, as a key priority. He’s considering prosecuting drug makers over the opioid epidemic. He also wants to investigate how legislators fund public education, implement the referendum that approved medical marijuana in 2016, and buy more land for conservation purposes, he told the Herald.