This week David McRae announced to the Madison County Journal that he has set his sights to be Mississippi’s next Treasurer in the 2019 election. This is on the heels of Treasurer Lynn Fitch’s announcement that she will be making a run for the Attorney Generals office in 2019.
McRae previously ran in 2015 against Fitch, losing in the GOP Primary. The incumbent Fitch took the seat with 57% of the vote in the Republican primary to McRae’s 43% according the the Secretary of State’s certified GOP Primary results.
During the 2015 campaign cycle McRae raised over $1.5 million and won 15 counties.
McRae comes from a deeply rooted Mississippi family known for their family-owned department store McRae’s, which was eventually acquired.
For her part, Fitch is resolute about taking her next political step.
“There is still much to do as Treasurer, and I will remain focused squarely on the current job the people of Mississippi have elected me to do. And, at the moment, November 2019 seems far off and there are important elections on the ballot this year that need voters’ attention. When the time is right, I will make a formal announcement, but today I can confirm that I am running for Attorney General.”
While it seems early for candidates to be announcing, especially with a Congressional and two U.S. Senate races in 2018, McRae and Fitch are not the only ones to express plans for the future.
In recent days, Republican State Rep. Mark Baker also announced he would be running for Attorney General. Since Fitch has now signaled her intention to run as well, that could make the AG’s Republican primary one of the more interesting races in 2019. Current AG Jim Hood has not announced whether he will stand for re-election for AG or possibly run for Governor against Republican Lt. Governor Tate Reeves as many in the press have conjectured.
Petal Mayor Hal Marx launched what many believe to be a longshot candidacy for the Republican gubernatorial nomination against Tate Reeves. Marx is closely allied with state Senator and US Senate candidate Chris McDaniel.
The practical implications of these early moves is that it starts to apply pressure to others that might be considering statewide office to overtly signal their intentions. It’s highly likely that others will be announcing soon for open offices like Governor, Lt. Governor, Treasurer and Secretary of State.
Sarah Ulmer
