Thad Cochran
McDaniel surges to lead Cochran in Mississippi poll
Two weeks ahead of the Republican Senate primary in Mississippi, a new poll puts challenger Chris McDaniel ahead of incumbent Thad Cochran, the GOP leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee, 43-40, with 15 percent undecided. The poll of 505 likely voters is the first in six weeks and was conducted last week, says Pollster.
A longtime power in farming and funding, Cochran will leave Senate on April 1
Seven-term Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and a leading proponent of Southern crops in the Agriculture Committee, announced he will resign, effective April 1, due to poor health. His departure will punctuate efforts to draft the 2018 farm bill in the coming weeks and could diminish the South's influence over the legislation.