Mississippi's next attorney general won't have the power to change the state flag. But that hasn't stopped it from becoming a campaign issue in recent weeks.

One Republican candidate, Andy Taggart, came out strongly earlier this month in favor of redesigning the the flag, which includes the Confederate battle emblem. He said it provides a negative "snapshot" of Mississippi, associating it with Civil War and slavery.

Now, another Republican in the race, state Rep. Mark Baker, R-Brandon, is making the flag an issue in his campaign, disagreeing with Taggart.

He talked about the flag at campaign stops in Simpson, Newton and Clarke counties over the weekend, according to a campaign announcement and a video of the Newton County event. His comments also followed New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's order last week to remove the flag from a prominent state park, saying the Confederate image on the flag was "reprehensible."

"I didn't bring this issue into the election, but my opponents have talked about how the state flag needs to be in a museum," Baker said.

"I've been in the Legislature since 2004, and since that time, anybody who has dropped a bill or tried to pass a law that said we were going to try and change the state flag down in Jackson, I fought that," he said. "I fought that because in 2001, the people decided that issue, and I fought that because if that issue is going to change, it's going to be and remain with the people, and not the politicians in Jackson."

In the video, Baker also talked about his support of President Donald Trump's effort to build a border wall, and slammed current Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood for outsourcing cases to private lawyers. He also reiterated support for the recently passed "heartbeat" abortion ban, already facing a challenge in court.

Treasurer Lynn Fitch, a third Republican candidate for attorney general, has previously backed changing the flag. She recently said it was an economic issue, saying concerns by business leaders that the flag was hurting the state's economic prospects were legitimate.

Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-961-7050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter.

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