Cindy Hyde-Smith | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2021 | |
| United States Senator fromMississippi | |
| Assumed office April 2, 2018 Serving with Roger Wicker | |
| Preceded by | Thad Cochran |
| 7thMississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce | |
| In office January 10, 2012 – April 1, 2018 | |
| Governor | Phil Bryant |
| Preceded by | Lester Spell |
| Succeeded by | Andy Gipson |
| Member of theMississippi State Senate from the 39th district | |
| In office January 4, 2000 – January 10, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | W. L. Rayborn |
| Succeeded by | Sally Doty |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cindy Hyde (1959-05-10)May 10, 1959 (age 66) Brookhaven, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (2010–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic (until 2010) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Copiah–Lincoln Community College (AA) University of Southern Mississippi (BA) |
| Website | Senate website Campaign website |
Cindy Hyde-Smith Questioning USDA Requirements to Access Federal Aid for Rural Hospitals Recorded November 15, 2022 | |
Cindy Hyde-Smith (néeHyde; born May 10, 1959)[1] is an American politician and lobbyist serving since 2018 as thejuniorUnited States senator fromMississippi.[2] A member of theRepublican Party, she served from 2012 to 2018 as theMississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and from 2000 to 2012 in theMississippi State Senate.
Born inBrookhaven, Mississippi, Hyde-Smith is a graduate ofCopiah–Lincoln Community College and theUniversity 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-Smithswitched parties and became a Republican, citing herconservative beliefs.[3] Hyde-Smith was elected Mississippi agriculture commissioner in 2011; she is the first woman to be elected to that office, and she was reelected in 2015.
On March 21, 2018, GovernorPhil Bryant announced his intention to appoint Hyde-Smith to theUnited States Senate seat being vacated due to the resignation ofThad Cochran.[4] Hyde-Smith was sworn into office on April 9, 2018. She is thefirst woman to represent Mississippi in Congress.[5] Hyde-Smith won the2018 special election for the remainder of Cochran's term, and was reelected in2020.
Hyde-Smith was born inBrookhaven, Mississippi, the daughter of Lorraine Hyde and Luther Hyde, and grew up inMonticello, Mississippi.[1] She attendedLawrence County Academy in Monticello, asegregation academy established in response to Supreme Court rulings ordering the desegregation of public schools.[6] The school's team nickname was the Rebels; the mascot was a "Col. Reb" who carried aConfederate flag.[6][7][8][9]
Hyde-Smith graduated fromCopiah–Lincoln Community College with anAssociate of Arts (AA) and theUniversity of Southern Mississippi with aBachelor of Arts (BA) incriminal justice andpolitical science.[10] She is one of the few U.S. senators who attended community college. After her studies, she worked as a lobbyist for the Southern Coalition for Safer Highways and National Coalition for Healthcare, with offices inWashington, D.C., andSan Francisco.[11][12] She served as the state director for Mississippi,Louisiana, andTennessee during her time with the National Coalition for Healthcare, which advocated nationwide healthcare coverage.[13]
Hyde-Smith was a member of theMississippi Senate, representing the 39th District from 2000 to 2012. For part of her tenure, she chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee, which led her Senate colleagues to encourage her to run forMississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.[14][15] She had a conservative voting record in the state Senate.[16] During her time in the state Senate, 79 of her bills became law.[17] She supported measures to collect DNA samples from people in custody of the Department of Corrections and authored a bill to ban most abortions after 12 weeks. After the abortion restriction bill passed and was signed by then-GovernorHaley Barbour, it was overturned in federal court. On the Senate Agriculture Committee, Hyde-Smith also helped manage the fallout from a controversial beef plant that defaulted on a $55 million state loan. The state sued firms involved in the construction of a 400-employee plant in Yalobusha County that closed three months after it opened, in August 2004. The state eventually settled with the plant owners for $4 million.[18] In 2001, Hyde-Smith introduced legislation to name a portion of Highway 51 forJefferson Davis, the president of theConfederacy, who had no ties to the area. The bill died in committee. Hyde-Smith also voted for resolutions honoring civil rights leaderMedgar Evers, the Freedom Riders andHiram Rhodes Revels, who, through legislative appointment during Reconstruction, became the first African American to represent Mississippi in the U.S. Senate.[19]
In 2009, Hyde-Smith led an effort to override Barbour's veto of a bill that sought to restrict the power of eminent domain to public use, thereby prohibiting eminent domain for private economic purposes. The bill passed the state House 119-3[20] and the state Senate unanimously.[21] Barbour vetoed the bill on the grounds that the restriction could harm the state's business climate. The legislature attempted to override his veto but was unsuccessful. In the House, the override vote was successful with a 101–19 vote,[22] but it failed in the Senate, 28–22.[23] Hyde-Smith was critical of senators who switched their vote after the veto, saying, "Not only could you never come to this podium again and say 'I protect private property rights', you're still gonna have to say 'I changed my vote to vote against private property rights'."[24]
On December 28, 2010, Hyde-Smith announced that she had switched her party affiliation fromDemocratic toRepublican.[10][25] Her switch made the Senate equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, with each party holding 26 seats.[16]
Hyde-Smith first sought election to theMississippi Senate in 1999, as she concluded her career as a lobbyist and transitioned back to the state. She returned to Mississippi, gave birth to her daughter, and qualified to run for state Senate all in one year.[15] Her opponent in the 1999 Mississippi Senate Democratic primary was 20-year incumbent W. L. Rayborn. She perceived that Rayborn prioritized his personal interests over his district's and had supported his opponents in the previous two elections. During the campaign, Hyde-Smith refused to criticize him or target specific issues. Rayborn was known for a pet cause—allowing non-dentists to make false teeth. A denturist without a dental degree, he showed up to the Capitol a few days each session adorned with buttons and stickers promoting his bill "The Freedom of Choice Dentures Act." In 1999, his last year in office, it died in committee.[26] Hyde-Smith defeated Rayborn in the Democratic primary and Republican Helen Price and independent Frank Greer in the general election, with 75.36% of the vote.[27]
In the 2003 Democratic primary, Rayborn challenged Hyde-Smith in the newly redrawn state Senate District 39 and lost, 65.47% to 34.53%.[28] Hyde-Smith was unopposed in the general election.
In 2007, Hyde-Smith was unopposed in the Senate District 39 Democratic primary. In the general election, she defeated Republican Edwin V. Case with 79.45% of the vote. This was her last election in the Senate district.[29]
In January 2011, Hyde-Smith announced her candidacy for Mississippi's commissioner of agriculture and commerce.[30] She won the Republican nomination in August[31] and the general election in November, defeating Democratic nominee Joel Gill, to become the first woman to win this position.[32] She took office on January 5, 2012.[33]
In June 2012, in response to a massive infestation ofplant bugs in cotton farms throughout theMississippi Delta (which had caused approximately $81 million in damages), Hyde-Smith said that theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency had approved an emergency exemption to help farmers exterminate the bugs.[34]
In January 2013, Hyde-Smith successfully pushed for legislation to help fund a big renovation project for theMississippi Coliseum.[35] In December 2013, she received a Service Award from the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation for the project.[36]
Hyde-Smith was reelected in 2015, defeating Democratic nominee Addie Lee Green by over twenty points.[37] She was sworn in for her second term on January 7, 2016.[38] In April 2016, Hyde-Smith announced that the Mississippi Department of Agriculture would be accepting proposals for both the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program for theyear's federal budget.[39]
On March 21, 2018,GovernorPhil Bryant announced Hyde-Smith as his choice to fill theUnited States Senate seat held byThad Cochran, who indicated he would resign the seat due to health issues.[40] Cochran resigned on April 1, and Bryant formally appointed Hyde-Smith on April 2.[2] Hyde-Smith became the first woman to represent Mississippi in the United States Congress.[41] 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.[42] At her ceremonial swearing in, Hyde-Smith was accompanied by her husband, Michael, and U.S. SenatorsRoger Wicker,Orrin Hatch,Lamar Alexander,Chuck Schumer, andSusan Collins.[41] Hyde-Smith announced that she would seek election to the seat in the2018 special election on November 6.[43]
The Trump administration reportedly did not support Hyde-Smith's Senate appointment because of her history as a Democrat,[44][45] but in August 2018, Trump endorsed her for election.[46] Hestumped for Hyde-Smith in suburban northern Mississippi.[47]
In the 2018 special election, Hyde-Smith was challenged by RepublicanChris 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 GovernorPhil Bryant.[48] She highlighted her support forSecond Amendment rights, opposition to abortion, and advocacy for the state's defense business.[49]
Hyde-Smith declined to debate her Democratic opponent,Mike Espy, before the November 6 special election; Cochran had often done the same.[50] After she and Espy each finished with about 41% of the vote,[51] she agreed to debate Espy on November 20 before the runoff election.[52]
During the runoff campaign, while appearing with cattle rancher Colin Hutchinson inTupelo, 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 oflynchings and public executions ofAfrican-Americans. In response to the criticism, Hyde-Smith downplayed her comment as "an exaggerated expression of regard" and called the backlash "ridiculous."[53][54][55] She refused to apologize.[56][57]
On November 15, 2018, Hyde-Smith appeared in a video clip saying that it would be "a great idea" to make it more difficult for liberals to vote.[58] Her campaign said Hyde-Smith was obviously joking and that the video was selectively edited. Both this and the "public hanging" video were released byLamar White Jr., a Louisiana blogger and journalist.[59]
Also in November 2018, media reports noted that Hyde-Smith attended a school that was created to avoidcourt-mandated racial integration and made use of various Confederate symbols, and that she sent her daughter to a similar school.[6][60]
The runoff election was held on November 27. Hyde-Smith defeated Espy, 53.9%-46.1%.[61][62]
In January 2020, Hyde-Smith filed to run for a full term in the November election.[63] She was renominated without opposition in the Republican primary. In the general election, she defeated Espy again, this time by a margin of ten percentage points.[64]
Starting in 2018, Hyde-Smith has introduced legislation that establishes the Gold Star Families Remembrance Week. She established the first formal and national recognition.[65]
On October 6, 2018, Hyde-Smith voted to confirmBrett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States.[66] On October 26, 2020, she voted to confirmAmy Coney Barrett to the Court.[67]
On January 6, 2021, Hyde-Smith was participating in the2021 United States Electoral College vote count debate about Arizona's electoral votes when Trump supportersstormed the United States Capitol. She and other senators were removed from the Senate floor to an undisclosed location shortly after the Capitol was breached. Her staff had to shelter in her office.[68] During the attack, Hyde-Smith tweeted: "Whatever frustrations any American may have, violence & destruction in the US Capitol, the seat of our democratic government, is unacceptable".[69] She later said that she was afraid during the storming of the Capitol and called the rioters "criminals who need to be prosecuted".[70]
Hyde-Smith identifies herself as a conservative Republican.[73] From 1999 to 2010, she served in elected office as aDemocrat. She voted in the Democratic primary in 2008[74] and described herself as having been aconservative Democrat during her tenure in the state legislature.[75] She switched to theRepublican Party in 2010.
In 2012, Hyde-Smith endorsed Republican nomineeMitt Romney for U.S. president.[76]
FiveThirtyEight reported that as of January 2021, Hyde-Smith had voted in line withDonald Trump's political positions about 92% of the time.[77] It also reported that as of November 2022, she had voted in line with PresidentJoe Biden's political positions about 38.9% of the time.[78]
On January 6, 2021, Hyde-Smith joined four other senators in voting to object to the certification of Arizona's electoral votes.[79] She said she based her decision on "the erosion of integrity of the electoral process." Hyde-Smith added that her constituents "do not believe the presidential election was constitutional and cannot accept the Electoral College decision." Her position differed from that of fellow Mississippi senatorRoger Wicker, who supported certification.[80] She also voted not to certify Pennsylvania's electoral votes.[81] TheJackson Free Press called on Hyde-Smith to "recant or resign" for objecting to the certification of Arizona's and Pennsylvania's electoral votes.[82]
Following the attack on the Capitol, Hyde-Smith did not support invoking theTwenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution to remove Trump from office. She also said she would not vote to convict Trump in the event of an impeachment trial.[83]
On May 28, 2021, Hyde-Smith voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the2021 United States Capitol attack.[84]
In 2021, Hyde-Smith expressed opposition to theFor the People Act, which would expand voting rights, claiming that the bill would nullify voter identification laws in Mississippi.[85] She also objected to allowing people to vote on Sunday, which is theChristian Sabbath and a day thatblack churches coordinate rides to polling places for their parishioners.[86][87]
Hyde-Smith describes her economic positions as fiscally conservative.[88]
In 2018, Hyde-Smith was one of 29 Republicans who joined all Democrats in opposing SenatorRand Paul's bill to cut federal spending by 1% over five years, known as the Penny Bill.[89] Republican opponents of the bill said it could threaten federal defense and domestic programs.[89] She faced criticism from the bill's supporters.[90]
Hyde-Smith supported the Trump-backedTax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[91] As a state legislator, she voted in favor of increasing unemployment benefits and in favor of raising taxes on cigarettes.[92]
In May 2019, Hyde-Smith was a cosponsor of the Transporting Livestock Across America Safely Act, a bipartisan bill introduced byBen Sasse andJon Tester intended to reform hours of service for livestock haulers by authorizing drivers to rest at any point during their trip without it being counted against their hours of service and exempting loading and unloading times from the hours of service calculation of driving time.[93]
In July 2019, Hyde-Smith was one of eight senators to introduce the Agricultural Trucking Relief Act, a bill that would alter the definition of an agricultural commodity to include both horticultural and aquacultural products and promote greater consistency in regulation through both federal and state agencies as part of an attempt to ease regulatory burdens on trucking and the agri-community.[94]
Hyde-Smith was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.[95]
In August 2018, Hyde-Smith co-sponsored theIsrael Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which would make it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts againstIsrael andIsraeli settlements in the occupiedWest Bank if protesting actions by the Israeli government.[96][97]
Hyde-Smith opposes theAffordable Care Act (Obamacare), saying that it "has failed Mississippi."[98] She is in favor of repealing it but says that she supports keeping provisions ensuring protections for preexisting conditions.[98] While in the Senate, she voted to expand the use of short-term health insurance plans, which can discriminate against people with preexisting conditions.[98]
In July 2019, Hyde-Smith was one of eight senators to cosponsor the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), a bill intended to strengthen training for new and existing physicians, people who teach palliative care, and other providers who are on the palliative care team that grants patients and their families a voice in their care and treatment goals.[99]
In October 2019, Hyde-Smith was one of 27 senators to sign a letter to Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell and Senate Minority LeaderChuck Schumer advocating the passage of the Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence (CHIME) Act, which was set to expire the following month. The senators warned that if the funding for the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) was allowed to expire, it "would cause an estimated 2,400 site closures, 47,000 lost jobs, and threaten the health care of approximately 9 million Americans."[100]
In March 2019, Hyde-Smith was among 12 senators to co-sponsor a resolution in favor of a constitutional amendment limiting theU.S. Supreme Court to nine justices. The resolution was introduced after multiple Democratic presidential candidates expressed openness to expanding the number of seats on the U.S. Supreme Court.[101]
Hyde-Smithopposesabortion.[102] In 2018, she voted with Senate Republicans to prohibit federal funding from being given to any organization or facility that promotes abortion services or family planning.[103] She opposes Planned Parenthood, describing it as "one of the worst things that has ever happened to us."[98]
In 2018, Hyde-Smith released a statement supporting the Trump administration'stravel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries.[104]
In February 2024, Hyde-Smith single-handedly blocked a federal law intended to protect access toin vitro fertilization treatments in the aftermath of theAlabama Supreme Court's ruling inLePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine (2024).[105] In a speech on the Senate floor, she claimed the bill would "legalize the creation of human-animal chimeras".[106]
In 2012, asCommissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Hyde-Smith personally opposed a same-sexcommitment ceremony at the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum, but instructed the museum to allow it after consulting withMississippi Attorney GeneralJim Hood. She declared she would seek a change in state law and request from the legislature "clear and straightforward definitions about what activities can take place on the property owned by the State of Mississippi."[107]
In November 2022, she voted against theRespect for Marriage Act, legislation that codifiessame-sex marriage rights into federal law.[108][109]
In 2007, Hyde-Smith voted for a resolution that praised aConfederate States Army soldier for his efforts to "defend his homeland".[110] During her first term in the Mississippi Senate, she proposed renaming a state highway after Confederate PresidentJefferson Davis, but the legislation did not pass.[111] In 2014, Hyde-Smith posted a photo of herself at Davis's home,Beauvoir, wearing a Confederate cap and carrying a rifle, with the caption "Mississippi history at its best!"[110][112]
On February 5, 2020, at thefirst impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, Hyde-Smith voted to acquit Trump. He was acquitted.[113]
On February 13, 2021, at Trump'ssecond impeachment trial, Hyde-Smith voted to acquit Trump. He was once again acquitted.[114]
Hyde-Smith is married to a cattle farmer, Mike Smith. They are members of the Macedonia Baptist Church. They have a daughter who graduated in 2017 fromBrookhaven Academy.[6][115] Mike Smith is related to Noah Smith, who is widely believed to have committed the murder of civil rights activistLamar Smith in 1955.[116] These ties came to light following the above-mentioned controversial statements made by Hyde-Smith regarding "public hanging[s]."[117]
| Primary election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Democratic | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 11,944 | 65.47 | ||
| Democratic | W. L. Rayborn | 6,299 | 34.53 | ||
| Total votes | 18,243 | 100.00 | |||
| General election | |||||
| Democratic | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 18,091 | 100.00 | ||
| Total votes | 18,091 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Primary election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Democratic | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 13,764 | 100.00 | ||
| Total votes | 13,764 | 100.00 | |||
| General election | |||||
| Democratic | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 12,844 | 79.45 | ||
| Republican | Edwin Case | 3,323 | 20.55 | ||
| Total votes | 16,167 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Primary election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Republican | Cindy Hyde-Smith | 144,873 | 52.93 | ||
| Republican | Max Phillips | 96,049 | 35.09 | ||
| Republican | Dannie Reed | 32,809 | 11.99 | ||
| Total votes | 273,731 | 100.00 | |||
| General election | |||||
| Republican | Cindy Hyde-Smith | 493,417 | 56.91 | ||
| Democratic | Joel Gill | 352,213 | 40.63 | ||
| Reform | Cathy L. Toole | 21,347 | 2.46 | ||
| Total votes | 866,977 | 100.00 | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Primary election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Republican | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 214,643 | 100.00 | ||
| Total votes | 214,643 | 100.00 | |||
| General election | |||||
| Republican | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 433,295 | 61.47 | ||
| Democratic | Addie Lee Green | 256,766 | 36.43 | ||
| Reform | Cathy L. Toole | 14,852 | 2.11 | ||
| Total votes | 704,913 | 100.00 | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 389,995 | 41.25% | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Espy | 386,742 | 40.90% | |
| Nonpartisan | Chris McDaniel | 154,878 | 16.38% | |
| Nonpartisan | Tobey Bartee | 13,852 | 1.47% | |
| Total votes | 945,467 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 486,769 | 53.63% | ||
| Democratic | Mike Espy | 420,819 | 46.37% | ||
| Total votes | 907,588 | 100.00 | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 235,463 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 235,463 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cindy Hyde-Smith (incumbent) | 709,539 | 54.10 | +0.25 | |
| Democratic | Mike Espy | 578,806 | 44.13 | −2.02 | |
| Libertarian | Jimmy Edwards | 23,152 | 1.77 | N/A | |
| Total votes | 1,311,497 | 100.00 | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
There's \"no doubt that's why those schools were set up," said former U.S. Rep Ronnie Shows, a Democrat who was Hyde's junior high basketball coach at Lawrence County Academy in the 1970s.
Hyde-Smith didn't just go to a school that seemed expressly designed to avoid integration, she also sent her daughter to one of them.
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Media related toCindy Hyde-Smith at Wikimedia Commons| Mississippi State Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by W. L. Rayborn | Member of theMississippi State Senate from the 39th district 2000–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce 2012–2018 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Mississippi 2018–present Served alongside:Roger Wicker | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forAgriculture and Commerce Commissioner of Mississippi 2011, 2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromMississippi (Class 2) 2018,2020 | Most recent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas United States Senator fromMinnesota | Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator fromMississippi since April 9, 2018 | Succeeded byas United States Senator fromTennessee |
| United States senators by seniority 64th | ||
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