Lynn Fitch (born October 5, 1961) is an American lawyer, politician, and the 40th

Mississippi Attorney General The Attorney General of Mississippi is the chief legal officer of the state and serves as the state's lawyer. Only the Attorney General can bring or defend a lawsuit on behalf of the state. The Attorney General is elected statewide for a four-yea ...

. 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.

Personal life and early career

Fitch is a native of

Marshall County, Mississippi Marshall County is a County (United States), county located on the north central border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 37,144. Its county seat is Holly Springs, Mississippi, ...

, and grew up in

Holly Springs, Mississippi Holly Springs is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Mississippi, United States, near the southern border of Tennessee. Near the Mississippi Delta, the area was developed by European Americans for cotton plantations and was dep ...

. She attended

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

where she earned a

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

as well as her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

, in five years. Fitch has two daughters and one son. She currently lives in

Ridgeland, Mississippi Ridgeland is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,047 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area. History In 1805, the Choctaw Indian Agency, headed by Silas Dinsmoor, was ...

. Fitch has been a bond lawyer, worked for the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

Ways and Means Committee as counsel, and as a special assistant attorney general with the

's office. In 2009, Fitch was named the executive director of the Mississippi State Personnel Board by Governor

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as chairman of the Republican ...

Political career

State Treasurer of Mississippi

In the race for State Treasurer of Mississippi, Fitch defeated state Senator

Lee Yancey Jeremy Lee Yancey (born July 29, 1968) is an American politician in Mississippi. He is currently a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 74th district. Early life Lee Yancey was born in Ripley, Mississippi, the son of Rex Y ...

in a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

for the Republican nomination on August 23, 2011. She went on to defeat

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Connie Moran in the November 8, 2011 general election with 59 percent of the vote.

Mississippi Attorney General

Fitch announced her candidacy for

Attorney General of Mississippi The Attorney General of Mississippi is the chief legal officer A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holdi ...

on March 14, 2018. In the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

primary for this office, she defeated State Representative Mark Baker from

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

, and Andy Taggart, former Chief of Staff to Governor

Kirk Fordice Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice Jr. () (February 10, 1934 – September 7, 2004), was an American politician and businessman who served as the 61st Governor of Mississippi from 1992 to 2000. He was the first Republican governor of the stat ...

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. After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

refused to concede while he and his allies made false claims of fraud, Fitch joined in the lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 election. In 2021, in ''

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', , is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both ''R ...

'', she requested that the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

overturn ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

'', a 1970s landmark

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

case. 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. Fitch has argued that a ban on abortion would empower women and that abortion prevents women from reaching their full potential.

Oral argument Oral arguments are spoken presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or parties when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also a ...

on behalf of Mississippi was delivered by Fitch's solicitor general, Scott Stewart.Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison
Attorney General Lynn Fitch paying outside law, PR firms for fight against abortion
''Mississippi Today'' (December 2, 2021). Outside the Supreme Court, the attorney general's office hosted a rally entitled "Empower Women Promote Life." 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 ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', ''Dallas Morning News'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', and (together with Monica Sparks, President of

Democrats for Life of America Democrats for Life of America (DFLA) is a 501(c)(4) American political advocacy nonprofit organization that seeks to elect anti-abortion Democrats and to encourage the Democratic Party to oppose euthanasia, capital punishment, and abortion. DF ...

) '' The Hill.'' Under Fitch, the Mississippi AG's office contracted to pay a D.C. law firm, as well as a

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

public relations firm and an

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

-based public relations consultant, up to $558,000 to support her efforts to defend Mississippi laws restricting abortion access.

Electoral history

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, Lynn 1961 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Living people Mississippi lawyers Mississippi Attorneys General Mississippi Republicans People from Holly Springs, Mississippi People from Madison, Mississippi People from Ridgeland, Mississippi State treasurers of Mississippi University of Mississippi School of Law alumni Women in Mississippi politics