Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Mississippi official to take U.S. Senate seat of retiring 80-year-old

Published 03/21/2018, 03:24 PM
Updated 03/21/2018, 03:31 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Thad Cochran takes part in a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Thad Cochran takes part in a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba

(Reuters) - A conservative Mississippi state official, Cindy Hyde-Smith, was named on Wednesday to serve as a U.S. senator until a special election in November to replace 80-year-old Thad Cochran, who is retiring because of ill health.

Hyde-Smith will be the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. She was the first woman elected to statewide office in Mississippi in 2011 when she won the position of state agriculture and commerce commissioner.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant announced the appointment, calling Hyde-Smith a "rock-solid conservative." He said the appointment would be effective April 2, the day after Cochran is to step down after 40 years in the U.S. Senate.

Cochran welcomed the selection of Hyde-Smith, saying in a statement that she was "a very well-qualified person whose experiences and excellent character will benefit our state in Washington."

Cochran's retirement put another Senate seat in play for November's mid-term elections. One-third of the seats in the Senate and all the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be decided.

Both of Mississippi's U.S. Senate seats will now be up for election. Republican Senator Roger Wicker is running for re-election. Cochran's seat had not been scheduled for an election until his decision to retire.

In announcing her acceptance of the Senate appointment, Hyde-Smith said she would be a candidate for the seat in the Nov. 6 special election and underscored her record, saying she had "been conservative all of my life" and had a "conservative voting record" for three terms as state senator.

Tea Party state Senator Chris McDaniel, who gave Cochran a scare in a bitterly fought Republican primary in Mississippi four years ago, announced earlier this year that he would run against Wicker. He said Wicker, like Cochran, was part of the Republican establishment.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Thad Cochran takes part in a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba

But after Cochran's decision to retire, McDaniel announced he would run for Cochran's seat instead. If McDaniel does run, he and Hyde-Smith would contest a Republican primary.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.