Mississippi Attorney General

Mississippi Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$108,960
2024 FY Budget:	$40,222,055
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Mississippi Constitution, Article VI, Section 173
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Attorney General of Mississippi Lynn Fitch Republican Party Assumed office: January 9, 2020
Elections
Next election:	November 2, 2027
Last election:	November 7, 2023
Other Mississippi Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Executive Director of Environmental Quality • Executive Director of Employment Security • Public Service Commission • Transportation Commission

The Attorney General of Mississippi is the chief legal officer and advisor for the state of Mississippi. The attorney general bears responsibility for advising the state on civil and criminal matters, representing public officials and governmental agencies, and interpreting state law through the issuance of legal opinions. The attorney general is elected every four years, in the odd-numbered years preceding a presidential election. He or she is not restricted to term limits.

Mississippi has a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Republican Lynn Fitch. Fitch was first elected in 2019. Prior to serving as attorney general, Fitch served as the treasurer of Mississippi.

Authority

The Attorney General's powers, term of office, qualifications and installation are established by Article 6, Section 173 of the Mississippi Constitution.

Article VI, Section 173:

There shall be an attorney-general elected at the same time and in the same manner as the governor is elected, whose term of office shall be four years and whose compensation shall be fixed by law. The qualifications for the attorney-general shall be the same as herein prescribed for judges of the circuit and chancery courts.

Qualifications

Article 6, Section 154 of the Mississippi Constitution establishes the qualifications of the judges circuit and chancery courts and also applies to the office of attorney general):

• a practicing lawyer for five years
• at least 26 years old
• a resident of Mississippi for at least five years

Article VI, Section 154:

No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of the circuit or of the chancery court who shall not have been a practicing lawyer for five years and who shall not have attained the age of twenty-six, and who shall not have been five years a citizen of this state.

Elections

Mississippi state government organizational chart

The attorney general is elected every four years, in the odd-numbered years before a presidential election. The attorney general is elected in 2015, 2019, 2023, and 2027.

2023

See also: Mississippi Attorney General election, 2023

General election

General election for Attorney General of Mississippi

Incumbent Lynn Fitch defeated Greta Martin in the general election for Attorney General of Mississippi on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynn Fitch (R)	58.1	470,870
		Greta Martin (D)	41.9	339,948

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 810,818
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Mississippi

Greta Martin advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Mississippi on August 8, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greta Martin	100.0	184,080

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 184,080
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Mississippi

Incumbent Lynn Fitch advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Mississippi on August 8, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynn Fitch	100.0	350,670

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 350,670
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2019

See also: Mississippi Attorney General election, 2019

General election

General election for Attorney General of Mississippi

Lynn Fitch defeated Jennifer Collins in the general election for Attorney General of Mississippi on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynn Fitch (R)	57.8	507,468
		Jennifer Collins (D)	42.2	370,068

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 877,536
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Attorney General of Mississippi

Lynn Fitch defeated Andy Taggart in the Republican primary runoff for Attorney General of Mississippi on August 27, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynn Fitch	52.1	168,278
		Andy Taggart	47.9	154,807

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 323,085
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Mississippi

Jennifer Collins advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Mississippi on August 6, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jennifer Collins	100.0	253,042

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 253,042
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Mississippi

Lynn Fitch and Andy Taggart advanced to a runoff. They defeated Mark Baker in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Mississippi on August 6, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynn Fitch	44.2	163,733
✔		Andy Taggart	28.6	105,689
		Mark Baker	27.2	100,598

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 370,020
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2015

See also: Mississippi Attorney General election, 2015

There was a regularly scheduled election for attorney general in 2015. Jim Hood (D) was eligible for re-election. The primary election occurred on August 4, 2015, with the general election on November 3, 2015.

Mississippi Attorney General, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jim Hood Incumbent	55.4%	400,110
	Republican	Mike Hurst	44.6%	322,648
Total Votes				722,758
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2003 for the office of Mississippi Attorney General, click [show] to expand the section.

2011 On November 8, 2011, Jim Hood won re-election to the office of Mississippi Attorney General. He defeated Steve Simpson (R) in the general election. Mississippi Attorney General, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Jim Hood 61.1% 536,827      Republican Steve Simpson 38.9% 342,086 Total Votes 878,913 Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State. 2007 On November 6, 2007, Jim Hood won re-election to the office of Mississippi Attorney General. He defeated Al Hopkins (R) in the general election. Mississippi Attorney General, 2007 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Jim Hood Incumbent 59.8% 440,017      Republican Al Hopkins 40.2% 295,516 Total Votes 735,533 Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State. 2003 On November 4, 2003, Jim Hood won election to the office of Mississippi Attorney General. He defeated Scott Newton (R) in the general election. Mississippi Attorney General, 2003 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Jim Hood 62.7% 548,046      Republican Scott Newton 37.3% 325,942 Total Votes 873,988 Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State.

Term limits

The attorney general is not subject to term limits.

Vacancies

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches the constitutional or statutory text that details the process of filling vacancies for a state executive office. That information for the Mississippi Attorney General has not yet been added. After extensive research, we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Duties

The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer and advisor for Mississippi. He is responsible for advising on both civil and criminal legal matters. The officeholder is aided by a staff of attorneys, investigators, and office personnel.

Other duties of the office include:

• represent public officials and government agencies
• issue legal opinions that interpret state law
• act as counsel to state agencies to defend them or bring suit on their behalf
• represent the people of the state of Mississippi

Mississippi Sunshine Act

On May 22, 2012, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant (R) signed a bill limiting the power of the attorney general. Dubbed the Mississippi Sunshine Act, House Bill 211 addressed the need, according to supporters, to "rein in the troublesome practice of awarding contingency fee contracts to plaintiffs' lawyers who are also major campaign contributors to the state attorney general." The conflict of interest issue stemmed from the office's ability to personally select private lawyers whose contracts and fees were arranged at the attorney general's discretion. The Sunshine Law, which went into effect July 1, 2012, requires the attorney general to appoint outside counsel to represent a state agency or elected official in the event that the attorney general either refuses or is in conflict with the agency or official. The new law took away the attorney general's power to bring suits unilaterally on behalf of a state agency or elected official. Instead, an agency or elected official is given seven working days to object and seek out alternate counsel, subject to approval by a commission comprised of the governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state. Once an objection is made, the attorney general cannot go on to represent the associated agency or official. In addition, the law limits the share of a verdict that goes to private lawyers hired on contingency, capping payments at $50 million in most cases.

Divisions

Updated January 25, 2021

The divisions of the attorney general's office include:

• Accounting and Financial Management
• Administrative Services
• Bureau of Victim Assistance
• Civil Litigation
• Communications
• Consumer Protection
• Criminal Appeals
• Cyber Crime
• Executive
• Information Technology
• Investigations
• Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
• Opinions and Policy
• Prosecutor and Law Enforcement Training
• Public Education and Community Engagement
• Public Integrity
• Solicitor General
• State Agencies

State budget

See also: Mississippi state budget and finances

The Office of the Attorney General's budget for fiscal year 2024 was $40,222,055.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

Under Article 6, Section 173 of the Mississippi Constitution the attorney general’s salary is determined by law. MS Code states that no public official can be compensated, directly or indirectly, greater than 150% of the salary of the governor.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the attorney general was paid an estimated $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the attorney general was paid an estimated $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

2012

In 2012, the attorney general was paid an estimated $108,960, according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

Summary of officeholders. Since 1818, Mississippi has had 39 officeholders.

Click "show" for former officeholders.

Number	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1	Lyman Harding	1818	1820
2	Edward Turner	1820	1821
3	Thomas B. Reed	1821	1825
4	Richard Stockton	1825	1828
5	George Adams	1828	1829
6	Robert H. Buckner	1829	1830
7	R. M. Gaines	1830	1834
8	M. D. Patton	1834	1837
9	T. F. Collins	1837	1841
10	John F. Freeman	1841	1853
11	D. C. Glenn	1853	1857
12	T. J. Wharton	1857	1865
13	Charles E. Hooker	1865	1868
14	Jasper Myers	1868	1870
15	Joshua S. Morris	1870	1874
16	George E. Harris	1874	1878
17	Thomas C. Catchings	1878	1885
18	Thomas S. Ford	1885	1886
19	T. Marshall Miller	1886	1893
20	Frank Johnston	1893	1900
21	Wiley N. Nash	1896	1900	Democrat
22	Monroe McClung	1900	1903	Democrat
23	William Williams	1903	1907	Democrat
24	Robert Virgil Fletcher	1907	1908	Democrat
25	J. Bowman Sterling	1908	1910	Democrat
26	Shepherd Spencer Hudson	1910	1912	Democrat
27	Rosser Alexander Collins	1920	1923	Democrat
28	Frank Roberson	1920	1923	Democrat
29	C. D. Potter	1923	1924	Democrat
30	Rush Hightower Knox	1924	1928	Democrat
31	George T. Mitchell	1928	1932	Democrat
32	Greek L. Rice	1932	1952	Democrat
33	James Plemon (J.P.) Coleman	1952	1956	Democrat
34	Joseph Turner Patterson	1956	1969	Democrat
35	Albioun Fernando Summer	1969	1980	Democrat
36	William A. (Bill) Allain	1980	1984	Democrat
37	Edwin Lloyd (Ed) Pittman	1984	1988	Democrat
38	Mike Moore	1988	2004	Democrat
39	Jim Hood	2004	2020	Democrat
40	Lynn Fitch	2020	Present	Republican

Campaign finance discipline

Main article: Campaign finance requirements for Mississippi ballot measures

The Attorney General of Mississippi is responsible for all prosecution of the state's campaign finance laws. This is regardless if it involves civil or criminal laws. The first step in filing any complaint is to file with the attorney general.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Mississippi Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Mississippi Attorney General - Google News

Contact information

Mailing address:
MS Attorney General's Office
P.O. Box 220
Jackson, MS 39205

Street address:
MS Attorney General's Office
550 High Street
Jackson, MS 39201

Phone: 601-359-3680

See also

• Mississippi state executive offices
• Mississippi state executive officials

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Mississippi Attorney General
• Official State of Mississippi Website
• Secretary of State - Qualifications and Fees for Mississippi Candidates