"I have a 34-year legal career in both private practice and public service, which began as Special Assistant Attorney General. I have litigated, prosecuted, and even drafted laws as counsel for the Mississippi Legislature. And, I have run complex State agencies, including the State Treasurer’s Office, where I have served as your Treasurer for the past eight years.
Throughout my career, I have been a solution-provider, working through partnerships to maximize the impact for the people I serve. Applying my conservative principles and collaborative approach, we have accomplished a lot at the Treasury these past eight years. For instance:
• We distributed $97 million in unclaimed property to residents and businesses.
• We generated over $150 million in savings for taxpayers through proactive management of State debt.
• We restructured the MPACT College Savings program to make it cost-neutral to taxpayers and affordable for families.
• And, we drafted the State’s first debt management rules for strategic and cost-effective borrowing practices when using the taxpayers’ credit card.
I have been an active member of the Mississippi Bar, as a member of its Leadership and Professionalism Committees, as the inaugural Chair of its Women in the Profession Committee, and as a member of The Mississippi Bar Foundation’s nominating committee. I have even taught several continuing legal education courses, including on professionalism and ethics.
I have been very fortunate to be honored by my professional peers over the course of my career. In 2017, I was named one of Mississippi’s Top 50 Most Influential and presented the prestigious Susie Blue Buchanan award by the Mississippi Bar Association’s Women in the Profession Committee. I was also selected as Outstanding Woman Lawyer of 2012, recognized as a Woman Trailblazer by the Mississippi Bar Association, honored as a Mississippi Business Journal Leader in Finance 2016, and named a 2015 Honoree of the Women in Government Leadership Program by Governing Magazine.
In both 2011 and 2015, I was privileged to have the trust of the Mississippi people who elected me Treasurer. I made a pledge in both elections to run positive campaigns regardless of what any opponent did. And, I make that pledge again now. I have too much respect for the people of this great State to do anything but give you my positive vision for our future.
I am a graduate of Ole Miss, both as an undergraduate and law student. I was raised in Holly Springs and live now in Madison County. My family and I are active members of the Madison United Methodist Church. And, I have served on the Boards for First Responders of Mississippi, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Goodwill, and the Red Cross."
Why are you running for Attorney General?
"I am a conservative solution-provider, and I am proud of all we have accomplished at the State Treasurer’s Office during the last eight years. I have done what you hired me to do there and I believe I can serve the people of Mississippi best as their first Republican Attorney General since Reconstruction and their first woman Attorney General ever.
The Attorney General is managing partner for Mississippi’s top law firm. I have a unique skill set, grounded in law, finance, policy, and administration, and a broad experience that prepares me to fill that role without a learning curve. I started my career at the Attorney General’s Office 34 years ago, and I will be ready to run the agency on Day One in 2020.
My agenda is focused:
1. Run a business-friendly office, making businesses our partners not adversaries in meeting the needs of the people.
2. Be smart and tough on crime.
3. Be a trusted partner to law enforcement and first responders.
4. Support crime victims and their families so they are not victimized a second time by an uncaring system.
5. Protect the most vulnerable amongst us, including seniors, children, the mentally ill, and veterans, from deceptive and fraudulent practices, and protect taxpayers from fraud and abuse.
6. Defend all Mississippi laws and the will of our people from outsiders who think they know better than us.
7. As a gun owner and lifetime NRA member, protect our Second Amendment rights.
8. Bring all parties together to fight the opioid crisis.
9. And, fight to end sex trafficking in Mississippi and provide a path back to society without shame or blame for its victims.
I have been humbled by the overwhelming support I get across Mississippi as I talk to voters and share my vision for this important office. People are excited about my bridge-building approach and drive toward solutions. And, I am looking forward to the opportunity to tackle issues, both big and small, for the people of Mississippi. We have a wonderful State and working together we can help Mississippians achieve their brightest future."
