Thad Cochran, 40-year GOP senator from Mississippi, dies at 81

Former Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran has died at 81, his successor Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) said in Thursday press release. The release said Cochran's family "extends its gratitude for the support shown to the Senator by Mississippians over the years," and that he "passed away peacefully early Thursday morning."

Cochran spent 40 years in the Senate, resigning in April 2018 because his health had "become an ongoing challenge." He served as a House member for two terms before being elected to the Senate, making him a congressional mainstay who preceded even the emergence of TV cameras on the Senate floor.

Current GOP senators who'd worked with Cochran soon sent their condolences, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) both citing Cochran's time in the U.S. Navy. Before his military and political careers, Cochran also spent time as a cheerleader for the University of Mississippi, which you can watch him describe below. Kathryn Krawczyk

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