Lynn Fitch, a Republican nominee for attorney General who has been state treasurer since 2011, would become the first woman and first Republican to hold this office since Reconstruction. Fitch, 58 said that she has used her conservative principles and a solution-driven approach for great results in Mississippi over the past eight years. “I want to use these same principles as your Attorney General to make Mississippi safer, protect our most fragile populations, streamline our regulatory structure, and make a lasting effect for Mississippians,” Jennifer Riley Collins, Democratic nominee to be attorney general, is the former director for the Mississippi ACLU, retired U.S. Army colonel and would be the first African American woman to hold this office, and the first African American to hold any state office since 1800s. Riley Collins, 53 years old, said that Mississippi’s people deserve a protector. My decision to run is the continuation of a lifetime’s service. I have the experience and professional skills to serve the people in Mississippi. I am a skilled and experienced litigator. My entire legal career has been dedicated to representing people and communities that are marginalized. I pledged to defend and uphold the law, in civilian and military careers. “The people deserve a dedicated public servant.” This race is the third in state history to feature two women as major party nominees for the same state office. In 2003, the incumbent Republican Lt. Governor. To win a second term, Amy Tuck defeated Barbara Blackmon (D-Canton), state senator. Fitch, a Democrat from Ocean Springs, won the first of her two terms as state treasurer in 2011. The chief legal officer of Mississippi and an advisor in civil and criminal cases, the Mississippi attorney general is responsible for overseeing all aspects of law and policy. The office’s responsibilities include representing state agencies and public officials in court, and issuing legal opinions to interpret state law. The current Attorney General Jim Hood is the Democratic nominee to governor. He has been in the office since 2003. Hood, who is the only statewide elected Democrat from 2007, frequently opposed policies adopted by executive and legislative branch conservatives. This was a source of contention for politicians from both sides. Fitch was the first Republican woman elected as state treasurer in 2011. She was appointed by former Gov. Haley Barbour was the executive director of Mississippi State Personnel Board. Her previous roles included deputy executive director at Mississippi Department of Employment Security and counsel to the House of Representatives Ways and Means and Local and Private Legislation Committees. Fitch made it clear during her campaign that she wants to support conservative policies. Fitch, who was the chairwoman of the Mississippi Women for Trump organization in 2016, has not mentioned Riley Collins during her campaign, instead focusing on politics and issues. Fitch stated that she was a Trump supporter from the beginning at the Neshoba County fair earlier in this year. “I was one of the first to support President Trump. I was chosen by him to chair his Women for Trump Mississippi organization. Riley Collins has praised her military service while on the campaign trail. From 1985 to 1999 she served in the U.S. Army, where she was promoted to the rank of colonel. From 1999 to 2017, she was also a U.S. Army Reserve member and a member the U.S. National Guard. Riley Collins is also a member the Project Equity advisory board as well as the Mississippi Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She has been working to increase her name recognition through a consistent refrain on serving peoples of color and other underrepresented groups. Riley Collins stated, “I will fight to protect the people of Mississippi so that the law is upheld and fair and just for all.” “I will defend our children who are victims of career politicians who only want a segment Mississippians to serve themselves.” Riley Collins made national headlines in September when she criticized Hood for not supporting her campaign. She wrote on Facebook: “Ask your self why. It is a question that all citizens should be asking and one they have the right to know. General Hood should reconsider his inability to support my campaign. “I am running to serve people, not special interests.” View our #MSElex Voter Guide for more information about all candidates running for state office.