Campaign decisions continue to be made, and Lynn Fitch (R) is the latest to announce her intentions for the 2019 election cycle.
The current State Treasurer has announced that she will be running for Attorney General next year. In her announcement, Fitch says that she wants to continue serving the state of Mississippi as an elected official as she nears the end of her second term as Treasurer.
“Serving as Mississippi’s Treasurer has been a great honor. In a career punctuated by public service, including opportunities as a Special Assistant Attorney General, as counsel at the Mississippi Legislature, and directing State agencies, holding elected office is a particular privilege and responsibility I have taken very seriously. As my second term nears its end, I have been considering how I can best continue to serve the people of this great State. With my unique skill set in law, finance, and public policy, I have determined that I can do the most good for this State as our next Attorney General.”
Fitch went on to say that while she is looking forward to the campaign, there is still work to be done before November 2019.
“There is still much to do as Treasurer, and I will remain focused squarely on the current job the people of Mississippi have elected me to do. And, at the moment, November 2019 seems far off and there are important elections on the ballot this year that need voters’ attention. When the time is right, I will make a formal announcement, but today I can confirm that I am running for Attorney General.”
Fitch’s connection to the office of the Attorney General began early on as she began practicing law as a Special Assistant Attorney General at age 23 before going into a private practice as a bond lawyer.
In 2009, Fitch was selected by Governor Barbour to serve as Executive Director of the Mississippi State Personnel Board.
Fitch has served as Mississippi’s Treasurer since her election in 2012 and is currently the only woman holding a state-wide office in Mississippi. In her role, she is charged with overseeing programs critical to the fiscal health of the state and the financial wellbeing of Mississippians.
A Holly Springs Native, Fitch received both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Juris Doctorate from Ole Miss.
Fitch isn’t the only one in the race for Attorney General. Last week, Rep. Mark Baker (R) announced his candidacy for the office. Baker has been highly critical of current AG Jim Hood for his aggressiveness in litigation against corporations in Mississippi.
“It’s no secret that I’ve felt like for some time that the office of the attorney general is not what it should be,” Baker said during his announcement on the Gallo Radio Show on Supertalk Mississippi. “And we’ve made some changes, we were able to pass the sunshine bill in 2012, the Attorney General’s sunshine bill, but we haven’t been able to do as much as what I would want to do, to make it a fair office, to make it a reasonable office, to make it where it’s not the office that affects so much of public policy in the state of Mississippi. I just kind of realized that I can’t do that from the outside in, I’ve got to do that from the inside out.”
Baker has served in the Mississippi House of Representatives for 16 years and has over 30 years of experience as a practicing attorney.
As for Hood (D), he seems to be gearing up for a run for Governor against current Lt. Governor Tate Reeves.
