Florida has a new top prosecutor.
Brad McVay was sworn in as statewide prosecutor Monday by Attorney General James Uthmeier. It is one of the top positions in the Florida Department of Legal Affairs and takes the lead in investigations that cross multiple county and judicial circuit lines.
McVay spent the past seven years holding top positions in the Department of State, including more than four years as general counsel, responsible for defending Florida’s election laws against multiple lawsuits filed by voting-rights groups.
McVay also worked as deputy secretary, managing the state’s election crimes office, created at the urging of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
McVay, a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law, spent five years as an assistant state prosecutor earlier in his career.
Uthmeier, during the swearing-in event, said McVay was one of “many qualified” applicants for the post, but he decided that he would be the best person to take on drug cartels, fight election fraud, and help protect children.
“He’s the right man for the job,” Uthmeier said. “He’s a good man. He’s an honorable man.”
Nick Cox, first appointed by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, had been statewide prosecutor since 2011. He stepped down earlier this year to take a top job with State Attorney Suzy Cox in Hillsborough County.
In brief remarks following his swearing-in, McVay promised that “we will strive to be fast, fearless, relentless, and smart.”
DeSantis appointed Uthmeier, his former chief of staff, as attorney general after he selected then-Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill the Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio, now U.S. secretary of state.
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