JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The state’s governor will appoint Mississippi’s first female member of Congress to fill the Senate vacancy that will soon be created when veteran Sen. Thad Cochran retires, three state Republicans told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Cindy Hyde-Smith, a 58-year-old Republican, has served as the state’s agriculture commissioner since 2011.
Once appointed, Hyde-Smith will immediately be running for re-election for the nearly three years remaining in Cochran’s term. That special election will be Nov. 6. Two of the sources said Gov. Phil Bryant was expected to announce his selection of Hyde-Smith as early as Wednesday.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement was not yet official.
Hyde-Smith is expected to be backed by the national and Mississippi GOP establishment against challenges from insurgent Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel and Democrats who would like to nab a Mississippi senate seat as part of an effort to overturn a slim GOP majority.