Thad Cochran
William Thad Cochran (born December 7, 1937) is the senior United States Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1978, he is currently the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which he previously chaired from 2005 to 2007. He also chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2003 to 2005 . Cochran is the third most-senior Senator and the second most-senior Republican member. Cochran won reelection to a seventh term in 2014, after defeating Chris McDaniel in an intense primary run-off election.