Cindy Hyde-Smith (née Hyde; born May 10, 1959) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Mississippi since 2018. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously the Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and a member of the Mississippi State Senate.
Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Hyde-Smith is a graduate of Copiah–Lincoln Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi. In 1999, she was elected to the Mississippi State Senate as a Democrat. She represented the 39th district from 2000 to 2012. In 2010, Hyde-Smith switched parties and became a Republican, citing her conservative beliefs. Hyde-Smith was elected Mississippi agriculture commissioner in 2011, the first woman elected to that office.
On March 21, 2018, Governor Phil Bryant announced his intention to appoint Hyde-Smith to the United States Senate seat being vacated due to the resignation of Thad Cochran. Hyde-Smith was sworn into office on April 9, 2018. She is the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. Hyde-Smith was a candidate in the 2018 U.S. Senate special election for the remainder of Cochran's term, which expired in 2021. She finished first in the top-two general election on November 6, 2018, but did not receive more than 50% of the vote, thus advancing to a November 27 special runoff election versus Mike Espy. Hyde-Smith won the runoff election, becoming the first woman elected to Congress from Mississippi.In January 2021, Hyde-Smith joined a group of Republican senators who objected to certifying some swing states' electoral votes as part of an attempt to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.


== Early life ==
Hyde-Smith was born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, the daughter of Lorraine Hyde and Luther Hyde, and grew up in Monticello, Mississippi. She attended Lawrence County Academy in Monticello, a segregation academy established in response to Supreme Court rulings ordering the desegregation of public schools. The school's team nickname was the Rebels; the mascot was a "Col. Reb" who carried a Confederate flag.Hyde-Smith graduated from Copiah–Lincoln Community College with an Associate of Arts (AA) and the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts (BA).


== Mississippi Senate ==
Hyde-Smith was a member of the Mississippi Senate, representing the 39th District from 2000 to 2012. She had a conservative voting record in the state Senate. On December 28, 2010, she announced that she had switched her party affiliation, from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Hyde-Smith's switch made the Senate equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, with each party holding 26 seats.


== Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce ==

Hyde-Smith was elected Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce in 2011 and took office on January 5, 2012. She was reelected in 2015, defeating Democratic nominee Addie Lee Green.


== U.S. Senate ==


=== Appointment ===
On March 21, 2018, Governor Phil Bryant announced Hyde-Smith as his choice to fill the United States Senate seat held by Thad Cochran, who indicated he would resign the seat due to health issues. Cochran resigned on April 1, and Bryant formally appointed Hyde-Smith on April 2. Hyde-Smith became the first woman to represent Mississippi in the United States Congress. The Senate was in a district work period and was not conducting legislative business at that time, so she did not take the oath of office until the Senate reconvened for legislative business on April 9. Hyde-Smith announced that she would seek election to the seat in the 2018 special election on November 6.


=== Elections ===


==== 2018 special election ====

The Trump administration reportedly did not support Hyde-Smith's Senate appointment because of her history as a Democrat. but in August 2018, Trump endorsed her for election. He stumped for Hyde-Smith in suburban northern Mississippi.In the 2018 special election, Hyde-Smith was challenged by Republican Chris McDaniel, who criticized her past Democratic affiliation. Hyde-Smith responded that she had "always been a conservative" and added that she had the support of Republican Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant. She highlighted her support for Second Amendment rights, opposition to abortion, and advocacy for the state's defense business.Hyde-Smith declined to debate her Democratic opponent, Mike Espy, before the November 6 special election; Cochran had often done the same. After she and Espy each finished with about 41% of the vote, she agreed to debate Espy on November 20 before the runoff election.During the runoff campaign, while appearing with cattle rancher Colin Hutchinson in Tupelo, Mississippi, Hyde-Smith said, "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be in the front row." The remark immediately drew harsh criticism, given Mississippi's notorious history of lynchings and public executions of African-Americans. In response to the criticis