Thad Cochran

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U.S. Senator

Thad Cochran

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R-MS

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Positions
Leadership: No leadership position
Committees: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Senate Committee on Appropriations, and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
(subcommittees and past assignments)

Candidates for the MS-Senate Class II Seat:
(Next election: 4 November 2014)

Confirmed: None so far
Considering: None so far
Rumored: None so far
Potential: None so far
Dropped-out: None so far
(more info and editing for the MS-Senate Class II Seat)
On the Web
Official website


William Thad Cochran, a Republican, has been a U.S. Senator from Mississippi since 1978.

Contents

Record and controversies

Congressional scorecards

Click through the score to see the records of other members of Congress and full descriptions of the individual votes.

Want to see someone else's scorecard added to the list? You can do it!

Organization 2007 Scorecard
Score - Agree ratio 		2008 Scorecard
Score - Agree ratio
American Civil Liberties Union not avail. not avail.
American Conservative Union 83 - 20/25 not avail.
AFSCME 0 - 0/7 not avail.
Americans for Democratic Action 15 - 3/20 15 - 3/20
Club for Growth not avail. not avail.
Drum Major Institute not avail. not avail.
Family Research Council 88 - 8/9 88 - 8/9
Information Technology Industry Council 80 - 4/5 80 - 4/5
League of Conservation Voters not avail. 9 - 1/11
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People not avail. not avail.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 82 - 9/11 not avail.


Iraq War

Cochran voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

In 2003, Cochran killed an amendment to the FY2004 defense appropriations bill (S.AMDT.1271) by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), requiring the Defense Secretary to submit a report to Congress every thirty days detailing the costs of military action, the number of troops deployed in the region, and any contributions received from foreign governments. Supporters argued that the Bush administration was using deceitful tactics to circumvent Congress's right to appropriate funds for the war. Republican opposition was unanimous, and Sen. Cochran effectively motioned to table (kill) the amendment.

Main article: Congressional actions on the Iraq War following the 2003 U.S. invasion

On March 27, 2007, Cochran introduced an amendment to the Senate's Iraq supplemental spending bill to strip the withdrawal deadline from the measure. The amendment was narrowly defeated, 48-50, with the support of two Republicans.

Main article: U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007 (H.R.1591)
For more information see the chart of U.S. Senate votes on the Iraq War.

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Budget

In 2006, the Republican-led 109th Congress was unable to pass spending bills for the next fiscal year. After learning that the bills would not be completed during the 109th Congress and would require a continuing resolution, a spokesperson for then Committee Chair Cochran stated, “Senator Cochran thinks it’s completely irresponsible that the responsibilities of this Congress have been abdicated for the year.”

Main article: Continuing resolution of 2007

Bio

Background

Cochran was born December 7, 1937 in Pontotoc, Mississippi. He earned Eagle Scout rank as a youth and graduated from Byram High School near Jackson. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Mississippi with a major in psychology and a minor in political science in 1959. After serving in the United States Navy (1959-1961), he attended the University of Mississippi School of Law and graduated in 1965. He practiced law for seven years.

Cochran had always been active in politics, working on several state Democratic campaigns. He became a Republican in the late 1960s and served as Mississippi executive director of Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign.

In 1972, Cochran ran succesfully for Congress. He was reelected in 1974, and by an even larger margin in 1976.

Senate Career

In 1978, James Eastland retired after six terms in the Senate, and Corchran decided to run. Cochran defeated state senator and future circuit court judge Charles Pickering, Sr. for the Republican nomination. The independent candidacy of Charles Evers, mayor of Fayette and brother of slain civil rights worker Medgar Evers, siphoned off enough black votes from Democrat Maurice Dantin to allow Cochran to become the first Republican to win a statewide election in Mississippi since Reconstruction. When Eastland resigned two days after Christmas, Cochran was appointed to the seat and started his Senate career a week early. He was reelected in 1984, was unopposed in 1990, reelected with over 70 percent of the vote in 1996 and faced no major-party opposition in 2002.

Cochran's voting record has been fairly moderate by Southern Republican standards. He has maintained a very low profile, at least compared to his colleague Trent Lott, who was elected to the Senate in 1988.

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. For specific controversies, see this article's record and controversies section.

Top Contributors to during the 2008 Election Cycle
DonorAmount (US Dollars)
Alabama Peanut Producers Assn$ 20,000
Baker, Donelson et al$ 14,800
Northrop Grumman$ 14,050
DCI Group$ 13,500
AT&T Inc$ 13,000
BancorpSouth$ 12,500
American Trucking Assns$ 12,300
DRS Technologies$ 11,500
Pruet Oil$ 11,300
Boeing Co$ 11,000
Cornerstone Government Affairs$ 11,000
Source: The Center for Responsive Politics' www.OpenSecrets.org site.
Note: Contributions are not from the organizations themselves, but are rather from
the organization's PAC, employees or owners. Totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.
Links to more campaign contribution information for Thad Cochran
from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile: 2008 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation: 2008 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by industry: 2008 election cycle Career totals


Committees and Affiliations

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

Coalitions and Caucuses

More Background Data

Wikipedia also has an article on Thad Cochran. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Contact

DC office
  • 113 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
    Ph: 202-224-5054 Fax: 202-224-9450
    Webform email
District offices
  • 14094 Customs Boulevard, Suite 201, Gulfport, MS 39503
    Ph: 228-867-9710 Fax: (none entered)
  • 188 East Capitol Street, Suite 614, Jackson, MS 39201-2125
    Ph: 601-965-4459 Fax: (none entered)
  • United States Federal Courthouse, 911 East Jackson Avenue, Suite 249, Oxford, MS 38655
    Ph: 662-236-1018 Fax: (none entered)
On the Web
Campaign office
  • No campaign website entered.
  • No campaign webform email entered.
  • No campaign office information entered.

Articles and Resources

References

    External resources

    External articles

    Local blogs and discussion sites


    Semantic data (Edit data)


    Latitude: 30°24′58.327″N
    Longitude: 89°4′22.645″W     Latitude: 32°18′3.416″N
    Longitude: 90°11′10.421″W     Latitude: 34°22′2.091″N
    Longitude: 89°31′16.896″W

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