Stipanovich worked on
Bob Martinez's successful
1979 Tampa mayoral campaign. Stipanovich served as chief of staff to Martinez from 1987 to 1991, during which time Martinez was governor of Florida. After that, he served on
Jeb Bush's gubernatorial campaign against
Lawton Chiles during the
1994 Florida gubernatorial election. During the
2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida, Stipanovich helped advise the
Secretary of State of Florida,
Katherine Harris. Stipanovich is portrayed in the
HBO film
Recount by
Bruce McGill. The film, which had a broadcast premiere on May 25, 2008, chronicled the events in Florida during the presidential election lawsuits and appeals. Stipanovich has written op-ed columns for
The New York Times,
Tampa Bay Times,
Sun-Sentinel, and others. Since the
2016 United States presidential election, Stipanovich has been critical of President
Donald Trump and the
Republican Party, calling the latter "...isolationist, protectionist, nativist, and xenophobic." In 2019, Stipanovich registered as a
Democrat, stating that he was supportive of
2020 candidates
Joe Biden,
Pete Buttigieg, and
Amy Klobuchar. In a February 2020 op-ed for the
Tampa Bay Times, Stipanovich stated that he would be "voting in the Democratic primary for the first time in 40 years." In March 2020, Stipanovich officially endorsed
Joe Biden. ==References==