NATCHEZ &045; Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck touted her support of tort reform efforts during a campaign stop in Natchez Tuesday.

Tuck was one of two statewide Republican candidates in the city. Attorney general hopeful Scott Newton was also in town.

Tuck, speaking to supporters at the Natchez Convention Center, said she believes tort reform efforts can help bring more jobs to the state and support small businesses while also keeping healthcare options open for residents.

&uot;We want the businesses already in Mississippi to stay, and we want to encourage new industry to come,&uot; she said. &uot;We need to send the message that we’ve restored stability to the legal system.&uot;

Tuck, the presiding officer in the Senate, visited Natchez last year to hear from doctors stretched thin by rising malpractice insurance costs. Later that year the state Legislature approved a malpractice reform aimed at lowering those insurance costs.

But, Tuck said, &uot;We still have a long way to go.&uot;

Newton, a formal federal prosecutor and FBI agent, was also in town to campaign Tuesday.

&uot;The attorney general should be the state’s chief law enforcement officer,&uot; Newton said before heading to speak at an Adams County Republican party gathering.

Having been both a prosecutor and an FBI agent, Newton said he has the &uot;hands-on&uot; law enforcement experience the job needs.

Newton said he decided to run after seeing statistics about Mississippi crime that place the state second in murder rate and 12th in rape rate.

Also, he said, &uot;I was just optimistic I could make a difference.&uot;

Newton wants to establish satellite attorney general’s offices in different regions of the state, a move he said would not cost much more money because it would be a reallocation of resources.

He also wants a five-year mandatory enhancement of sentences for crimes involving a firearm and improved service by victims’ advocates in the office.

In addition to focusing on crime, Newton said he campaign is highlighting the need for civil justice reform.