Facts: - jr/sr: united states senator - birth name: william thad cochran - party: democratic present -rrb- -lrb- before 1967 -rrb- republican -lrb- 1967 -- - alongside: roger wicker - predecessor: james montgomery eastland barbara mikulski ted stevens tom harkin sonny - birth date: 7 december 1937 - branch: united states navy - spouse: rose -rrb- kay webber , -lrb- 2015 -- present -rrb- clayton -lrb- 1964 -- 2014 ; her death - office: chairman the senate committee on agriculture of the senate committee on appropriations chairman of - district: mississippi 4 4th - term end: january 27 , 1978 3 , 2007 january 3 , 2005 december - serviceyears: 1959 -- 1961 - name: thad cochran - website: senate website - birth place: pontotoc , mississippi , u.s. - successor: robert byrd saxby chambliss jon hinson - state: mississippi mississippi - alma mater: university of mississippi , oxford - allegiance: united states - children: clayton kate - term start: december 3 , 2005 january 3 , 2003 january 3 , 27 1973 , 1978 january 3 , 2015 january - image: cochranthad -lrb- r-ms -rrb- . jpg - religion: southern baptist Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of thad cochran .
william thad cochran -lrb- born december 7 , 1937 -rrb- is the senior united states senator from mississippi and a member of the republican party .first elected to the senate in 1978 , he is currently the chairman of the senate appropriations committee , which he previously chaired from 2005 to 2007 .he also chaired the senate agriculture committee from 2003 to 2005 .cochran is the third most-senior senator and the second most-senior republican member .cochran won reelection to a seventh term in 2014 , after defeating chris mcdaniel in an intense primary run-off election .