Lynn Fitch

Lynn Fitch
Fitch in 2024
Lynn Fitch
Born	5 10, 1961
Birthplace	Holly Springs, Mississippi, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Lawyer, politician
Education	University of Mississippi (BA, JD)

Lynn Fitch (born October 5, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 40th Attorney General of Mississippi, a position she has held since January 14, 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Fitch made history as both the first woman and the first Republican since Reconstruction to serve as Mississippi's attorney general. Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Fitch previously served as the 54th State Treasurer of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020. She gained national prominence for her office's role in the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case before the Supreme Court of the United States, in which Mississippi successfully argued for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Her tenure as attorney general has also been marked by efforts in combating human trafficking, participation in high-profile legal disputes over the state's welfare scandal, and involvement in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the Voting Rights Act.

Early Life

Lynn Fitch was born on October 5, 1961, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, a small city in Marshall County in the northern part of the state. She grew up in Mississippi and remained in the state for both her undergraduate and professional education, developing roots in the state's legal and political communities from an early age.

Education

Fitch attended the University of Mississippi (commonly known as "Ole Miss") in Oxford, Mississippi, where she earned both her Bachelor of Arts degree and her Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the university's School of Law. Her dual educational background at Ole Miss in both the liberal arts and law provided the foundation for a career that would span both legal practice and public service in Mississippi.

Career

Early Legal and Government Career

Prior to entering elected office, Fitch built a career in law and government service in Mississippi. She held various positions that provided her with experience in state government operations and legal affairs.

State Treasurer of Mississippi (2012–2020)

Fitch was elected as the 54th State Treasurer of Mississippi in the 2011 general election, succeeding Tate Reeves, who had been elected Lieutenant Governor. She took office on January 5, 2012, and served in the role for nearly eight years, until January 14, 2020. As State Treasurer, Fitch was responsible for overseeing the management of state funds, the state's investment portfolio, and various financial programs. She was succeeded as Treasurer by David McRae.

During her tenure as Treasurer, Fitch established herself within Republican circles in Mississippi and built the political profile that would later support her bid for the attorney general's office.

Campaign for Attorney General

In May 2018, Fitch announced her candidacy for Attorney General of Mississippi, seeking to succeed the long-serving Democratic incumbent Jim Hood, who had held the office since 2004 and was running for governor in 2019. The race was significant because the attorney general's office had been held by Democrats continuously for over a century; no Republican had served as Mississippi Attorney General since Reconstruction, a period ending in 1878.

On November 5, 2019, Fitch won the general election, making history on two fronts: she became the first woman ever elected as Mississippi Attorney General and the first Republican to hold the office since 1878. Her victory was part of a broader Republican sweep of statewide offices in Mississippi that year. Fitch took office on January 14, 2020, under Governor Tate Reeves, her predecessor in the Treasurer's office.

Attorney General of Mississippi

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

Fitch's most nationally prominent action as attorney general came in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which centered on Mississippi's Gestational Age Act, a 2018 state law that banned most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The case, which had been initiated under her predecessor Jim Hood's tenure, took on new significance under Fitch's leadership.

In July 2021, Fitch's office filed a brief with the Supreme Court of the United States that went further than simply defending the 15-week ban. The brief explicitly asked the Court to overturn both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the two landmark precedents that had established and upheld a constitutional right to abortion. This represented a significant escalation from the state's original legal position and placed the case squarely at the center of the national abortion debate.

Fitch became a prominent public voice in the case, authoring opinion pieces in multiple national publications arguing in favor of overturning Roe. In a June 2021 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, she argued that Mississippi's voters should be able to determine the state's abortion laws. In July 2021, she wrote in USA Today defending the 15-week ban. In September 2021, she published an opinion piece in The Dallas Morning News arguing that changes in workplace and social conditions since 1973 meant that "pregnancy no longer halts a woman's career" and that thinking about abortion "must catch up." In a November 2021 Washington Post opinion piece, she argued that overturning Roe would "let voters decide abortion policy." She also wrote in The Hill about "caring for the whole life and the whole woman."

Fitch's office retained outside public relations and law firms to assist in the litigation and public messaging surrounding the case. Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart argued the case before the Supreme Court during oral arguments in December 2021.

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs, ruling 6–3 to uphold Mississippi's 15-week ban and, in a 5–4 decision authored by Justice Samuel Alito, overturning both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The decision returned the authority to regulate abortion to individual states. Fitch's office maintained a dedicated public page on the Dobbs case.

Mississippi Welfare Scandal Litigation

Fitch has been involved in legal proceedings related to Mississippi's welfare scandal, one of the largest public fraud cases in the state's history. The scandal involved the misuse of funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, with millions of dollars in welfare funds intended for the state's poorest residents being misspent. Among those implicated in the scandal was Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre.

A significant legal dispute emerged between Fitch's office and Mississippi State Auditor Shad White over which official had the legal authority to pursue civil lawsuits to recover the misspent funds. Fitch argued that the Attorney General holds the exclusive right to file civil lawsuits on behalf of the state, while White contended that the State Auditor's office also possesses the authority to claw back misspent public money. The Mississippi Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the dispute in January 2026.

Voting Rights Act Challenge

In September 2025, Fitch's office asked the U.S. Supreme Court to sharply curtail a central provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The filing sought to limit the scope of the Act as it pertains to claims of racial discrimination in voting. The action placed Mississippi at the forefront of a national legal debate over the continued scope and enforcement of federal voting rights protections.

Anti-Vaccine Religious Exemptions

Fitch's office was also involved in legal matters related to religious exemptions from vaccine requirements in Mississippi. The state's approach to religious exemptions for school vaccination requirements drew national attention.

Human Trafficking and Crime Victims

Fitch has identified combating human trafficking as a priority of her office. In August 2025, she discussed the work of her office in getting human traffickers convicted and sentenced to prison.

The Attorney General's office under Fitch has also maintained an annual Crime Victims Christmas Tree Dedication ceremony in Jackson, Mississippi, honoring victims of crime in the state.

2020 Election Litigation

In December 2020, Fitch was among several Mississippi Republican officials who joined efforts seeking to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election. These efforts sought to throw out millions of ballots in contested states.

Public Engagement and Outreach

Fitch has maintained an active schedule of public appearances at educational institutions across Mississippi. In February 2026, she spoke to honors students at Pearl River Community College as part of the institution's Lunch and Learn series on state government. In October 2025, she visited students at Mississippi State University.

Recognition

In April 2026, Fitch was announced as the recipient of the Alumni Professional Achievement Award from the University of Mississippi's Northwest Mississippi campus. The award was to be presented at the Northwest Soiree on April 18, 2026.

Fitch has appeared on C-SPAN in connection with her role as Attorney General.

Her election in 2019 as the first woman to serve as Mississippi Attorney General was itself a landmark recognized in state political history. The fact that she was also the first Republican to hold the office since 1878 underscored the political significance of her election within the context of Mississippi's long history of Democratic dominance in statewide offices.

Legacy

Lynn Fitch's tenure as Mississippi Attorney General has been defined by several consequential legal and political actions. Her office's role in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization placed her at the center of one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions in decades, one that fundamentally altered the legal landscape of abortion in the United States. Regardless of perspective on the underlying issue, the Dobbs case cemented Fitch's position as a consequential figure in American legal and political history.

Her election as both the first female and first Republican Attorney General of Mississippi since Reconstruction represented a significant shift in the state's political dynamics. Her prior service as State Treasurer and her subsequent election to the attorney general's office reflected the broader trend of Republican dominance in Mississippi statewide elections during the early 21st century.

The ongoing litigation surrounding the Mississippi welfare scandal, including the jurisdictional dispute between her office and the State Auditor, continues to shape the legal and institutional landscape of accountability in Mississippi state government. The resolution of this dispute by the Mississippi Supreme Court is expected to have lasting implications for the respective authority of the Attorney General and Auditor in pursuing the recovery of misused public funds.

Fitch's actions regarding the Voting Rights Act and other federal legal matters have positioned the Mississippi Attorney General's office as an active participant in national legal and constitutional debates extending well beyond the state's borders.