Jackson Free Press

Lee Yancey, District 20 state senator, is running for state treasurer. He will be in a runoff election Aug. 23 against Lynn Fitch for the Republican nomination. As treasurer, Yancey has promised to lower taxes and reduce government debt. On his website, he also lists "protecting Mississippi from Obama" as one of his goals, and promises to "add his voice to the voices of other conservative leaders across the country in calling for Washington, D.C., to back off."

Yancey serves as vice-chairman of the Highways and Transportation Committee as a state senator, and is a member of other committees including finance. He also serves on the State Bond Commission. Yancey's campaign website touts his conservative record in the Mississippi Senate, saying he has "co-authored and passed some of the toughest anti-illegal immigration legislation in America."

It also says he has never voted for a tax increase and has a 100-percent anti-abortion voting record.

The senator was a senior consultant and lobbyist for the Christian Action Commission of the Mississippi Baptist Convention, where he spoke in churches and schools and worked to pass conservative legislation.

Yancey was born in Ripley, graduated from Mississippi College, and received his master's degree and a doctorate in leadership administration from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He currently works for a financial services company in Ridgeland. He is married and has two children. He did not respond to requests for an interview.