47 Facts About Thad Cochran

William Thad Cochran was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator for Mississippi from 1978 until his resignation due to health issues in 2018.

Thad Cochran served in the United States Navy as an ensign before graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Thad Cochran served three terms in the House representing Jackson and portions of southwest Mississippi.

Thad Cochran won a three-way race for US Senate in 1978, becoming the first Republican to represent Mississippi in the Senate since Blanche Bruce was elected during Reconstruction.

Thad Cochran was reelected to six additional terms by wide margins.

Thad Cochran was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2015 to 2018.

Thad Cochran chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2003 to 2005.

William Thad Cochran was born on December 7,1937, in Pontotoc, Mississippi, the son of Emma Grace and William Holmes Cochran, a teacher and school principal, respectively.

Thad Cochran's family settled in Hinds County, Mississippi, home of the state capital, Jackson, in 1946 after a few moves around the northern part of the state.

Thad Cochran graduated valedictorian from Byram High School near Jackson.

Thad Cochran was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi honor society, and worked as a lifeguard at Livingston Lake in Jackson during the summers.

In 1968, Lamar Alexander recruited Thad Cochran to serve as chairman of Citizens for Nixon-Agnew in Mississippi.

In 1972, Jackson lawyer Mike Allred and oilman Billy Mounger, both Republicans, recruited Thad Cochran to run for Congress as a Republican.

Thad Cochran won the Republican nomination for the Jackson-based district, which was renumbered as the 4th District after redistricting.

Thad Cochran quickly became very popular in his district, even though almost none of its living residents had been represented by a Republican before.

Governor Cliff Finch appointed Thad Cochran to serve the remaining week of Eastland's term.

Thad Cochran faced an expected strong challenge for re-election from incumbent Democratic governor William Winter in 1984, but he was re-elected easily, 60.9 to 39.1 percent.

Thad Cochran was likely helped by the presence of Ronald Reagan atop the ticket for president; Reagan carried Mississippi by an almost identical margin, 61.8 percent to Walter Mondale's 37.4 percent.

Thad Cochran was completely unopposed in 1990 and took 71 percent of the vote in 1996; the Democratic nominee, retired factory worker Bootie Hunt, received 27.4 percent.

In 2014, Thad Cochran faced a primary challenge from Tea Party-supported candidate Chris McDaniel.

The images were posted to a blog, intending to advance the rumor that Thad Cochran was having affairs while his wife was receiving care.

The Thad Cochran campaign denied allegations of vote-buying made by a blogger regarding his run-off victory.

Generally, Thad Cochran kept a lower national profile than conventional wisdom would suggest for someone who spent almost half a century in Washington, including seven terms in the Senate.

Thad Cochran served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference from 1985 to 1991 and as Chairman from 1991 to 1996.

Thad Cochran chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2003 to 2005.

In June 1991, Thad Cochran introduced legislation to establish a commission of three members appointed by the president to oversee recognition of Indian tribes and speed the tribal recognition process.

In June 1996, Thad Cochran ran for the post of Senate Majority Leader to succeed Republican Bob Dole, who had resigned from the Senate to concentrate on his presidential campaign.

Thad Cochran faced his Mississippi colleague Trent Lott, the then-Senate Majority Whip.

Thad Cochran cast himself as an "institutionalist" and who would held to rebuild public trust in Congress through compromise over conflict.

Thad Cochran was dubbed "The Quiet Persuader" for his role in winning money for the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Thad Cochran missed two weeks of the Senate session due to a urological procedure.

However, Thad Cochran sought to defuse rumors that his retirement was imminent, saying, "Don't believe everything you hear".

On March 5,2018, Thad Cochran announced that he would retire from the Senate due to ongoing health challenges.

Thad Cochran was one of the longest-serving members of Congress in history.

Thad Cochran was considered to be more moderate than his Republican colleagues.

In 2017, The New York Times arranged Republican senators based on ideology and reported that Thad Cochran was the fourth most moderate Republican in their findings.

On July 18,2006, Thad Cochran voted, along with 19 Republican senators, for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act to lift restrictions on federal funding for the research.

In 2017, Thad Cochran was one of 22 senators to sign a letter to President Donald Trump urging the President to have the United States withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

Thad Cochran had an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association due to his consistent voting and support of pro-gun legislation.

Thad Cochran voted with 40 Republicans and 5 Democrats to stop the passage of the bill.

Thad Cochran voted to repeal a regulation that made it illegal for certain individuals with specific mental health diagnosis to purchase guns.

Thad Cochran opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Thad Cochran said that he was "very proud" to have Davis's desk.

Thad Cochran opposed attempts to remove a statue of Davis from the US Capitol.

In January 2018, Thad Cochran was one of thirty-six Republican senators to sign a letter to President Trump requesting he preserve the North American Free Trade Agreement by modernizing it for the economy of the 21st Century.

On May 23,2015, Thad Cochran married longtime aide Kay Webber in a private ceremony in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Fourteen months after his resignation from the Senate, Thad Cochran died on May 30,2019 in Oxford, Mississippi.