Lynn Fitch
Lynn Fitch (born October 5, 1961) is an American lawyer, politician, and the 40th Mississippi Attorney General. She is the first woman to serve in the role and the first Republican since 1878. Previously, she was the 54th State Treasurer of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020.
Lynn Fitch | |
|---|---|
| 40th Attorney General of Mississippi | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2020 | |
| Governor | Tate Reeves |
| Preceded by | Jim Hood |
| 54th Treasurer of Mississippi | |
| In office January 5, 2012 – January 14, 2020 | |
| Governor | Phil Bryant |
| Preceded by | Tate Reeves |
| Succeeded by | David McRae |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 5, 1961 Holly Springs, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | University of Mississippi (BA, JD) |
Personal life and early career
Fitch is a native of Marshall County, Mississippi, and grew up in Holly Springs, Mississippi.[1] She attended University of Mississippi where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration as well as her Juris Doctor, in five years.[2] Fitch has two daughters and one son. She currently lives in Ridgeland, Mississippi.[3]
Fitch has been a bond lawyer, worked for the Mississippi House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee as counsel, and as a special assistant attorney general with the Mississippi Attorney General's office. In 2009, Fitch was named the executive director of the Mississippi State Personnel Board by Governor Haley Barbour.[3]
Political career
State Treasurer of Mississippi
In the race for State Treasurer of Mississippi, Fitch defeated state Senator Lee Yancey in a runoff election for the Republican nomination on August 23, 2011.[4] She went on to defeat Democrat Connie Moran in the November 8, 2011 general election with 59 percent of the vote.[5]
Mississippi Attorney General
Fitch announced her candidacy for Attorney General of Mississippi on March 14, 2018.[6] In the Republican primary for this office, she defeated State Representative Mark Baker from Brandon, and Andy Taggart, former Chief of Staff to Governor Kirk Fordice and former Madison County Supervisor. Having defeated Democratic candidate Jennifer Riley Collins in the general election, Fitch is the first woman to serve as the state's Attorney General and the first Republican to serve in the office since 1878.[7]
After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump refused to concede while he and his allies made false claims of fraud, Fitch joined in the lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 election.[8][9]
In 2021, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, she requested that the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1970s landmark abortion case.[10] She called Roe v. Wade "egregiously wrong" and argued that the Court should allow a new Mississippi state law banning abortions after 15 weeks to come into effect.[11] Fitch has argued that a ban on abortion would empower women and that abortion prevents women from reaching their full potential.[1] Oral argument on behalf of Mississippi was delivered by Fitch's solicitor general, Scott Stewart.[12][13] Outside the Supreme Court, the attorney general's office hosted a rally entitled "Empower Women Promote Life."[14] In the months leading up to the oral arguments in the Dobbs case, Fitch authored a series of op-eds arguing against abortion. Her writing was published in the Wall Street Journal,[15] USA Today,[16] Dallas Morning News,[17] The Washington Post,[18] and (together with Monica Sparks, President of Democrats for Life of America) The Hill.[19] Under Fitch, the Mississippi AG's office contracted to pay a D.C. law firm, as well as a Birmingham, Alabama public relations firm and an Alexandria, Virginia-based public relations consultant, up to $558,000 to support her efforts to defend Mississippi laws restricting abortion access.[12]
Electoral history
| Mississippi Treasurer Republican Primary Election, 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Lynn Fitch | 104,287 | 37.65 |
| Republican | Lee Yancey | 92,653 | 33.45 |
| Republican | Lucien Smith | 80,054 | 28.90 |
| Mississippi Treasurer Republican Primary Runoff Election, 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Lynn Fitch | 82,930 | 53.16 |
| Republican | Lee Yancey | 73,076 | 46.84 |
| Mississippi Treasurer Election, 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Lynn Fitch | 513,132 | 58.79 |
| Democratic | Connie Moran | 333,267 | 38.18 |
| Reform | Shawn O'Hara | 26,421 | 3.03 |
| Mississippi Treasurer Republican Primary Election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Lynn Fitch (inc.) | 154,492 | 57.67 |
| Republican | David McRae | 113,411 | 42.33 |
| Mississippi Treasurer Election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Lynn Fitch (inc.) | 511,465 | 79.24 |
| Reform | Viola McFarland | 134,014 | 20.76 |
References
- ^ a b Kitchener, Caroline. "The woman who could bring down Roe v. Wade". www.thelily.com. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
- ^ . Treasury.state.ms.us. 2012-01-05. Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
- ^ a b "[Dish] Lynn Fitch - Cover Stories - Jackson Free Press: Jackson, Mississippi". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
- ^ "Fitch defeats Yancey in GOP treasurer runoff » State News". Leader Call. Associated Press. Retrieved 2012-01-11.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Official Tabulation of Vote for State Office of Treasurer" (PDF). www.sos.ms.gov. Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
- ^ "Lynn Fitch to run for attorney general". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
- ^ Gates, Jimmie E. "Lynn Fitch elected Mississippi's first female attorney general". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
- ^ "Several Mississippi Republicans seek to throw out millions of ballots". Mississippi Today. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
- ^ "Mississippi AG to support Texas in election lawsuit".
- ^ Liptak, Adam (2021-07-22). "Mississippi asks the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
- ^ de Vogue, Ariane (July 22, 2021). "Mississippi asks US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade". CNN.
- ^ a b Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison, Attorney General Lynn Fitch paying outside law, PR firms for fight against abortion, Mississippi Today (December 2, 2021).
- ^ Giulia Heyward, Scott Stewart, the lawyer representing Mississippi, was at the center of a 2017 abortion controversy., New York Times (December 1, 2021).
- ^ "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization - Attorney General Lynn Fitch". www.ago.state.ms.us. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
- ^ Fitch, Lynn (2021-06-14). "Opinion | Mississippi's People Should Choose Its Abortion Laws". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
- ^ Fitch, Lynn. "Mississippi supports protecting life at 15 weeks. Give abortion debate back to the people". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
- ^ "Pregnancy no longer halts a woman's career, and our thinking about abortion must catch up". Dallas News. 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
- ^ "Opinion | Mississippi attorney general: Overturning 'Roe' will return abortion policy to the people". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
- ^ Lynn Fitch and Monica Sparks, opinion contributors (2021-09-18). "Caring for the whole life and the whole woman is hard, but right". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
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External links
- Appearances on C-SPAN