Sen. Cochran of Miss. to Run for 7th Term

Faces primary challenger

Veteran Sen. Thad Cochran, a Republican from Mississippi, plans to seek a seventh term next year, POLITICO has confirmed. With a primary challenge from the right, this could prove to be his toughest race yet.

Cochran, the second most-senior Republican in the Senate, guarded his decision to seek reelection so closely that even Senate leaders and top officials at the National Republican Senatorial Committee didn't know what he was planning until he shared it with the press. He kept the political world waiting for his decision throughout the fall: he originally said he'd make his decision by the end of November, but that deadline passed with no word from Cochran.