Taggart, 61 years old, stated that he was happy with his life. He practiced law in Ridgeland, duck hunting, rode his motorcycle, and traveled with his wife, particularly to Houston to visit their granddaughter. He had been considering running for the office as attorney general since 2003. However, he was fueled by the tragic death in 2012 of his son Brad. This happened during a drug war. The loss of their son was a major casualty of the drug wars. We have tried to find ways to redeem that for seven years, in a way that saves young people and helps other families face the challenges they face.” Taggart, a Madison resident, said. “And I haven’t been able to shake that conviction that service as an attorney general’s officer is a key method to accomplish that,” Taggart, a Madison resident, said. In recent years, Taggarts have addressed a variety of groups including churches, civic groups and drug court graduates, and anyone else who might be interested about the dangers of using drugs and their son. Taggart is now running for the office of attorney general against Lynn Fitch, Republican state treasurer, and Mark Baker of Rankin County. Jennifer Riley-Collins is running for the Democratic nomination to replace Jim Hood, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s state chapter. Hood is the only statewide elected Democrat and is running for governor. Taggart, who is seated at a table in the common area of Banner Hall (a Jackson shopping/restaurant area), stated that he would make drug fighting, punishing “predators”, and providing assistance to the victim a priority. Hood was focused on cyber crime, which Taggart acknowledged he didn’t “begrudge” but that he wanted to change. However, this does not mean that his office would not pursue cyber crime if elected. Taggart was previously a Madison County supervisor and unsuccessfully ran in 1988 for the 4th U.S. Congressional district. Although he never held a statewide or districtwide elected office, Taggart has been an integral part of Republican politics for many decades. He was the governor. He was Kirk Fordice’s chief-of-staff. He also ran Fordice’s 1995 state re-election campaign. Fordice was, in fact, the first Republican governor of Mississippi after Reconstruction and the first governor to serve consecutive terms. The state Constitution had once limited the term limit for governors. A young Taggart was working in the state for Ronald Reagan’s campaign in 1980. He has also been co-author and political commentator in recent times with his long-time Democratic campaign consultant Jere Nah, discussing both national and state politics. Taggart is perhaps more vocal about the issue of changing the state flag than any Republican running for statewide office this year. He stated, “I think we need an Attorney General who is just as passionate about Mississippi’s future than a lot of people are about the past.” “And that would help us in recruiting young people across state lines to stay here and retaining our young people in our state. It would also allow us to give our current flag a dignified retire.” The Confederate battle emblem is a large part of the flag’s design. Taggart stated that he wouldn’t support the end of outside lawyers being used in certain cases to assist the AG’s office with civil lawsuits against large corporations. He said that the private attorneys who take on these cases should be selected through a bidding process to avoid what he called a perception of “pay-to-play.” Taggart also stated that he believes that the attorney general should be a practicing attorney who can represent the state in court. He stated that he has more experience in this area than any of the other candidates for the position. He mentioned Fordice’s representation in court during his tenure as governor as well as other instances such as representing Phil Bryant, then-state auditor._x000D