Sen. Thad Cochran served in Congress for 45 years before stepping down last year as his health deteriorated.

| Aaron P. Bernstein/Bloomberg via Getty Images Congress Former Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran dies at 81

Former Sen. Thad Cochran died on Thursday morning in Oxford, Miss., according to a statement from his longtime spokesman. He was 81.

Cochran served as the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, most recently from 2015 until April of 2018, and helped direct millions of dollars to his home state in his 45 years in Congress. He stepped down last spring as his health deteriorated, and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) was selected as his replacement.


The GOP senator was a throwback from a more genteel era of American politics, rarely engaging the brutal fights and pitched partisanship of today's modern-day Senate. In his farewell speech last year, Cochran reminisced of serving in Congress "with nine presidents during times of conflict and peace."

"We have engaged in heated arguments. But even in full disagreement, I believe all our motivations begin at the same point: the sincere desire to serve our states and country," he said then. He is the tenth-longest serving senator of all time, according to Senate records.

The low-key Republican had good relationships with Democrats and was nicknamed the "quiet persuader" for his style of politicking. Indeed, he rarely raised his voice, shied away from the press and generally kept his head down in the Capitol as he sought to strike consensus on spending and farm bills.

"Very sad to hear the news on the passing of my friend, Senator Thad Cochran. He was a real Senator with incredible values - even flew back to Senate from Mississippi for important Healthcare Vote when he was desperately ill. Thad never let our Country (or me) down!" tweeted President Donald Trump.





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Cochran served in the House for three terms before running for an open Senate seat in 1978 following the retirement of former Democratic Sen. James Eastland. Cochran's victory made him the first Republican elected in the state in a century, and the longtime senator played a key role in the expansion of the GOP in his home state. Now, Mississippi is one of the most Republican states in the country.

After his election to the Senate, Cochran worked his way up in seniority, serving in GOP leadership in the 1990s. He then became Agriculture Committee chairman in 2003 followed by a leap to Appropriations Committee chairman in 2005. He served at the top of the panel for two years before resuming his chairmanship in 2015 when the GOP took back the majority in the Senate.

“Thad Cochran was a giant in the United States Senate and one of the greatest champions Mississippi has ever known," said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who served alongside Cochran. “Thad Cochran’s footprints are all around us. From his career in the Navy through his retirement in 2018, his life was marked by service to this country."

Cochran's own reelection race was one of the most integral parts of the GOP's Senate takeover that year, as he faced off a stern challenge from the right from Chris McDaniel, a state senator who forced Cochran into a run-off election in 2014. Trump at the time endorsed McDaniel, tweeting "Chris McDaniel looks like he will win in Mississippi - GREAT NEWS and big victory for Tea Party!"

The race took several bizarre turns, including an incident where a blogger broke into the nursing home where Cochran's wife lived.

As McDaniel cast the centrist Cochran as a liberal Republican, Cochran openly appealed to the state's black voters and narrowly ousted McDaniel. Cochran then won his his general election campaign to help Republicans take back the majority and make Cochran the top lawmaker on the Senate's influential spending panel.

“Thad will be first remembered as a tireless champion of his fellow Mississippians," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday. “But the effects of Thad’s advocacy were felt far beyond Mississippi. As Appropriations Chairman, he wielded great influence with abundant grace."

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