JACKSON, Miss.—Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant named state Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MI).
Cochran, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced he will retire effective April 1.
“We congratulate Cindy Hyde-Smith on being named the first female Senator from Mississippi, and look forward to meeting with her shortly to discuss credit union legislative issues at the national level,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle.
Hyde-Smith recently attended a Mississippi Credit Union Association meeting, and is a credit union supporter, CUNA stated.
"We are very excited to welcome Cindy Hyde-Smith as our next United States Senator," said Charles Elliott, Mississippi Credit Union Association president/CEO. "Just last week, she was the guest of honor at the Pine Burr Chapter meeting in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, commenting that she was impressed with our advocacy efforts on S 2155 and encouraging our continued engagement with elected officials in Washington. We look forward to enhancing credit unions’ relationship with her in Washington."
Hyde-Smith will serve until a Nov. 6 special election. The winner of that election will serve for the remainder of Cochran’s term, which runs until 2021.
She previously served in the state Senate for from 2000 to 2012, and was first elected as agriculture commissioner in 2011 before being reelected in 2015.