THAD COCHRAN

'William Thad Cochran' (born December 7, 1937) is the senior United States Senator from Mississippi. He is a Republican.

Contents

Early life

U.S. Congress

2008 re-election

Committees

Footnotes

External links

Early life

He was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi to William Holmes Cochran and Emma Grace (nee Berry),^[1] a school principal and a teacher, respectively. His 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. Cochran still lives in Jackson today.
Cochran earned Eagle Scout as a youth and was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award as an adult. He graduated from Byram High School near Jackson and received a B.A. degree from the University of Mississippi with a major in psychology and a minor in political science in 1959. There he joined the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. After a time in the United States Navy (1959–1961), he attended the University of Mississippi School of Law, was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi honor society and graduated in 1965. He then practiced law for seven years. He married Rose Clayton on June 6, 1964; the couple have two children.
Cochran had always been active in politics, working on several state Democratic campaigns. His official Senate biography notes his advocacy on behalf of segregationist Democrat Paul B. Johnson, Jr. for governor. Cochran became a Republican in the late 1960s and served as Mississippi executive director of Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign.

U.S. Congress

In 1972, 3rd District Congressman Charles Griffin decided not to run for a third full term. Cochran won the Republican nomination for the Jackson-based district, which was renumbered the 4th District after redistricting. He defeated Democratic state senator Ellis Bodron by just under four points. A major factor in Cochran's victory was the gigantic Republican landslide in that year's presidential election, in which Nixon won 49 of 50 states and 78 percent of Mississippi's popular vote. Cochran and Trent Lott (who later served alongside him in the Senate) became the second and third Republicans to represent Mississippi in the House of Representatives since Reconstruction. He was handily reelected in 1974, one of the few bright spots in a year when anger over Watergate caused several Republicans to lose their seats. He was reelected by an even larger margin in 1976.
In 1978, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman and Senate President pro tempore James Eastland retired after six terms in the Senate. Cochran defeated former state senator and future circuit court judge Charles Pickering, Sr. for the Republican nomination. Cochran then defeated Democrat Maurice Dantin and independent candidate Charles Evers to become the first Republican to win a statewide electi^[2]on in Mississippi since Reconstruction. It is very likely that Evers, the brother of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, siphoned off many black votes that would have otherwise gone to Dantin.
When Eastland resigned two days after Christmas, Cochran was appointed to the seat by governor Cliff Finch and started his Senate career a week early. He handily defeated Governor William Winter in 1984, was unopposed in 1990, reelected with over 70 percent of the vote in 1996 and faced no major-party opposition in 2002.
In 2007, Cochran was selected to push the Pharmaceutical Industry agenda to stop the import of pharmaceutical drugs. Cochran introduced an amendment that required the Secretary of Health and Human Services to certify all imported drugs were safe and would provide substantial savings to American consumers. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the certification amendment a "POISON PILL" for the drug-imports legislation. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., acknowledged it nullified his bid to allow the purchase of drugs abroad.
Cochran's voting record is generally regarded as moderate by Southern Republican standards. He has maintained a very low profile, at least compared to Eastland and his colleague Lott, who was elected to the Senate in 1988 when longtime incumbent John Stennis retired.
However, Cochran has considerable influence behind the scenes, especially in Mississippi. This is not surprising given his status as the first Republican to hold statewide office since Reconstruction. In April 2006, Cochran was selected by ''Time'' as one of "America's 10 Best Senators"; the magazine quoted an unnamed "senior G.O.P. Senator" who said "He doesn't get a whole lot of play in terms of coverage, but he is effectively stubborn doing what needs to be done."^[3]
Cochran served as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference (caucus) from 1991 to 1996 and chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2003 to 2005. In 2005, he was appointed as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, making him the first Republican from a former Confederate state to chair the committee.
In 2002, over the course of several weeks, this candidate repeatedly refused requests by citizens in the candidate's own state, leaders of both major political parties, major news organizations and Project Vote Smart staff to provide voters with essential issue information in the 2002 National Political Awareness Test (NPAT). Senator Thad Cochran would not provide this information to citizens in the candidate's own state - no matter who asked them, when they were asked or how they were asked.
The National Political Awareness Test (NPAT) asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. ^[4]

2008 re-election

Cochran will seek another term in the senate according to his aides, but an official announcement is not expected until November, 2007.^[5] He has been serving there since 1978, and is the state's Senior Senator. The other senator is Republican Trent Lott. Mississippi is more Republican, and the only real probable Democratic contender is Congressman of the 4th District Gene Taylor.

Committees

In addition to his ranking minority membership of the Appropriations Committee, Cochran serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry committee and the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Footnotes

1. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/senators/cochran.htm
2.
3. Thad Cochran: The Quiet Persuader, an April 2006 ''TIME'' magazine article
4. http://www.vote-smart.org/npat_about.php
5. Cochran plans to run in ‘08

External links

★ United States Senator Thad Cochran 'official Senate site'

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★ Federal Election Commission — Thad Cochran campaign finance reports and data

★ On the Issues — Thad Cochran issue positions and quotes

★ OpenSecrets.org — Thad Cochran campaign contributions

★ Project Vote Smart — Senator Thad Cochran (MS) profile

★ SourceWatch Congresspedia — Thad Cochran profile

★ Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Thad Cochran voting record