Former Sen.Thad Cochran dies at 81

Former Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., who served in Congress for 45 years, died Thursday. He was 81. Former chief of staff Brad White said Cochran died at a nursing home for veterans in Oxford, Miss.

Born in Pontotoc, Miss., Cochran served in the U.S. Navy for three years before entering the legal and political world. Originally a Democrat, Cochran switched to the Republican Party in 1967 and won election to his home state’s 3rd Congressional District in 1972. He would win reelection to the House twice. Cochran was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978, becoming the first GOP candidate to win a statewide election in Mississippi in more than a century. He held that seat for four decades, serving on several committees and earning the lasting respect of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Time named Cochran one of America’s top 10 senators in 2006, citing his “quiet, courtly manner” and “mastery of the issues” as reasons for his success. He also won endorsements from the National Right to Life Committee for his advancement of “vital pro-life public policies.” He resigned from the Senate on April 1, 2018, for health reasons.

Cochran’s first wife, Rose, died in December 2014, just after he won reelection for his seventh Senate term. His second wife, Kay, and two children survive him.