Washington, DC — Yesterday, The 19th’s Grace Panetta spotlighted Mississippi Democratic AG candidate Greta Kemp Martin, who’s running against current AG Lynn Fitch, writing, “The attorney general behind the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade is up for reelection in deep-red Mississippi. One Democrat wants to give her a real fight for a second term.”

“Greta Kemp Martin, a lawyer who works as a litigation director for Disability Rights Mississippi, said she decided last year that she couldn’t let Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch, whose office represented Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization before the Supreme Court, go unopposed,” reports The 19th.

 “‘I jumped in the race at this time because, plain and simple, Mississippi just deserves better than what we have in our current attorney general,’ Martin said. ‘They deserve a person who’s going to be the people’s lawyer and someone that respects their health care freedom and privacy. They deserve someone that’s gonna fight for them, because I think the state is worth fighting for.’”

 The 19th continues, “…Martin’s campaign argues that Fitch has pursued partisan objectives at the expense of Mississippi’s poorest residents, who face hospital closures and a maternal mortality crisis that disproportionately affects Black women.”

“Martin has especially criticized Fitch for not more aggressively prosecuting the state officials behind a welfare fraud scandal, reported on in-depth by Mississippi Today, in which state officials diverted $77 million in federal funds for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to unrelated projects backed by well-connected political allies and donors, including former NFL quarterback Brett Favre.”

 “…Fitch is imposing her views on abortion on other states by leading amicus briefs opposing a lawsuit against Florida’s 15-week abortion ban and supporting a federal lawsuit in Texas seeking to revoke the Food & Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, an abortion pill. Most recently, she led other attorneys general in a letter to the federal Department of Health & Human Services opposing a proposed Biden administration rule to protect the health information of patients traveling to other states for abortions.”

 “‘Fitch thinks abortion bans “empower women.” We call bullshit,’ Emily Trifone, deputy communications director for the Democratic Attorneys General Association, said in a statement. ‘Abortion is on the ballot in 2023. And it’s time to replace the architect behind Dobbs with an AG who actually believes in policies that empower women and all Mississippians.’” 

“‘This is the earliest I have ever seen people paying attention not only to the governor’s race, but to all the races down ballot,’ [Kemp Martin] said. ‘And I think it is a bright line of hope for Mississippi politics, not for one particular policy or party. It is a bright line of hope for change, and I’m really excited to be a part of that change.’”

###