Friends,

I appreciate the friendship, support, and encouragement that you have given me in this campaign, and other campaigns in my career.  Many of you have supported me in races over the years for Congress and in the Senate.  I deeply appreciate the opportunity to work in Washington to represent the interests of our state and the opportunity to work toward solving problems that confront our country.  It is an important role, and I am honored to be re-elected for a 6th term. 

Your involvement in this campaign was the true key to our success. I will do my best to reflect credit on the state of Mississippi for the next six years. Thank you very much. 

Cochran coasts to a 6th term

11/5/2008 2:45:52 AM
Daily Journal 

Republican Thad Cochran won a sixth term in the U.S. Senate, easily defeating Democrat Erik Fleming in Tuesday’s election.

Cochran had almost 63 percent of the vote, outpolling Fleming, a former state legislator from Jackson.

The 70-year-old Cochran, a native of Pontotoc, has been in the Senate 30 years. He’s the ranking Republican on the powerful Appropriations Committee.

Click here to read the article in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

At an Election Night Party in Oxford, Senator Cochran addressed his friends and guests after he was declared the projected winner of the Senate seat in Mississippi.  An audio clip of his remarks are posted below.

Senator Cochran arrived at the Chamber of Commerce building in Oxford, Mississippi, this morning in order to cast his ballot.  View pictures below of his visit to the polls.

AP Photos/Oxford Eagle, Bruce Newman)

Senator Thad Cochran waits in line to cast his ballot in Oxford.

Senator Cochran votes at the Chamber of Commerce in Oxford, MS.

TODAY is the big day.  As we head into Election Day, we can not go without saying how rewarding this experience has been for every member of our campaign staff.  The people of Mississippi have been so gracious to Senator Cochran – and we have had the chance to visit with many of you, as we have traveled through communities large and small. 

What stories!!!  Many of you generously opened your homes during campaign stops in the early part of the Senator’s political career, when he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, and have dutifully anchored Thad signs every election since 1972.  Other memories were offered in quiet tones and recount Senator Cochran’s advocacy on behalf of family members marginalized by the inaction of government agencies; a grandmother unable to get social security benefits, an uncle that was denied veteran’s benefits, a family displaced by Katrina. You shared those stories as a measure of Senator Cochran’s willingness to help every citizen, and those are the memories that will be remembered fondly by me, and all those involved over the years.

A victory on Election Day is not possible without each of you.  So please, tell all of your friends, family members, and coworkers to GO VOTE.  Vote for Senator Thad Cochran for United States Senate today, November 4th.  Mississippi needs a proven leader like Thad Cochran, now, more than ever.

Sincerely,
Thad for Senate campaign

Please read the following article written by the Clarion-Ledger staff expressing their endorsement of Senator Thad Cochran for a 6th term for the United States Senate.

Endorsement: Cochran earns a 6th term
The Clarion-Ledger • November 1, 2008

Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, the senior member of Mississippi’s congressional delegation, has earned re-election to a sixth term based on his seniority, his service and his ability to be effective in representing Mississippi’s interests on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

Cochran, who has served the state in Congress since 1973, faces Democrat Erik Fleming in the Nov. 4 election.

Fleming is a former Hinds County state legislator. With scant financial support from his party, Fleming has waged a game effort against Cochran during the long campaign. He currently works as a paralegal with the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance and was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2006, gaining 35 percent of the vote against former Republican U.S. Sen. Trent Lott.

But as the ranking GOP member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, Cochran’s seniority is simply too valuable to Mississippi to seriously consider making a change.

Cochran chaired the Appropriations Committee before Democrats seized the majority in the 2006 elections and will serve four more years after this current term as ranking minority member should he win re-election.

A full sixth term would give Cochran 36 years in the Senate, matching the record of his predecessor, the late U.S. Sen. James O. “Big Jim” Eastland of Doddsville.

While Cochran and Fleming have argued vigorously the differences of their political parties and their personal philosophies, Cochran speaks well of Fleming and Fleming speaks well of Cochran. Their campaign has been about ideas and ideals.

Click here to continue reading.

Civil Rights leader Charles Evers, brother of Medgar Evers, endorses Senator Thad Cochran for the United States Senate.  Watch the video below of his endorsement.