Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who spearheaded the case for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and end federal abortion rights, is running as a Republican candidate for governor in the 2027 election, she announced on Tuesday.
“Mississippi is on the verge of moving from the nation’s best-kept secret to the nation’s leader in conservative governance,” she said in a statement announcing her plans on Tuesday morning. “We need the right leader to make this moment count. I have the experience, the record, and the proven leadership to take Mississippi to the top.”
Her office’s successful arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization allowed abortion bans to take effect in Republican-led states across the country, including Mississippi’s laws banning virtually all abortions.
Before Fitch took the case, Mississippi’s Democratic former attorney general, Jim Hood, argued to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. Lower courts initially struck the law down, as well as a separate six-week abortion ban, citingRoe v. Wade’s 1973 ruling that found a constitutional right to abortion and a 1992 ruling that affirmed that core precedent. The Dobbs decision overturned both precedents.
“Always remember that we protected life by overturning Roe v. Wade,” Fitch said at the Neshoba County Fair on June 24 as fairgoers clapped and cheered. “I’m honored to have led the attorney general’s team on one of the biggest cases in the nation’s history. You know, the big firms and the organizations came down to Jackson, they said, ‘You know, we wrote the law, so we’ll handle the lawsuit for you.’ We told them, ‘We got this at the attorney general’s office.’ And we did. And Mississippi, led by the attorney general’s office, showed the world how to make legal history. And then Mississippi showed the world how to make good on a promise to empower women and promote life.”
In her campaign announcement, she promised to make partnerships and work with others to put voters’ interests first.
As part of the Mississippi Board of Election Commissioners, Fitch helped draw a new Mississippi Senate District map in 2025 after a district court rejected the Legislature’s version of the plan earlier that year.
“I am a Trump conservative with Mississippi values,” she said in a campaign announcement. “Together, we will make bold and sustaining change for Mississippi. That is how we make the most of this moment in time. That is how we make Mississippi the nation’s leader. That is how we give you and your family your best future.”
While serving as attorney general, Fitch has helped push legislation over the finish line that she said protects kids online by implementing age-verification checks on certain websites, like social media and pornographic sites.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers sponsored and passed the age-verification law in 2024, called the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act, with no opposition while citing a desire to regulate children’s use of social media. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch argued that the law would help protect young people from “sexual abuse, trafficking, physical violence, sextortion, and more.”
The law is named after 16-year-old Walker Montgomery, whose father said he died by suicide after a sextortioner on Instagram threatened to share an explicit video of him if he did not send them $1,000.
A federal court had blocked the law from taking effect amid a lawsuit from tech industry group NetChoice, but the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it to go into effect earlier this month while the lawsuit proceeds.
Fitch is planning campaign stops in Jackson, Hattiesburg and Gulfport on Wednesday; in Meridian, Columbus and Tupelo on Thursday; and in Cleveland and Southaven on Friday.
Mississippi Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson announced in 2025 that he is running as a Republican candidate for governor. Former Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn also put his hat in the governor’s race as a Republican candidate earlier this year. The primary election is set for Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2027, and the general election will be on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2027.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of the 2027 elections and read past stories here.
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