Mississippi’s ag chief named to Senate
BROOKHAVEN, Miss. — The governor of Mississippi appointed state Agriculture Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith on Wednesday to succeed fellow Republican Thad Cochran in the U.S. Senate.
Cochran, who is 80, is stepping down April 1 because of poor health. Hyde-Smith, 58, would be the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. She will immediately begin campaigning for a Nov. 6 nonpartisan special election to fill the rest of Cochran’s term, which expires in January 2020.
Hyde-Smith, who thanked Gov. Phil Bryant for entrusting her with the appointment to the Senate, pledged to support President Donald Trump’s agenda, saying she will push for border security, support gun rights, oppose abortion, and work to rebuild the military and repeal health care changes enacted under former President Barack Obama. In 2016, she was one of many agriculture advisers to Trump’s presidential campaign.
Bryant is also a Trump supporter and has said he believes the president will campaign for his Senate appointee in the special election.
Chris McDaniel, a tea party-backed state senator, said last week that he is running in the special election. Democrat Mike Espy, who was President Bill Clinton’s first agriculture secretary, also intends to run.