Hyde-Smith, Cindy, 1959-

Cindy Hyde-Smith (née Hyde; born May 10, 1959) is an American politician serving as the junior United States Senator from Mississippi since 2018. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously the Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and a member of the Mississippi State Senate.

Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Hyde-Smith is a graduate of Copiah–Lincoln Community College and the University 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-Smith switched parties and became a Republican, citing her conservative beliefs. Hyde-Smith was elected Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner in 2011, the first woman elected to that office.

On March 21, 2018, Governor Phil Bryant announced his intention to appoint Hyde-Smith to the United States Senate seat being vacated due to the resignation of Thad Cochran. Hyde-Smith was sworn into office on April 9, 2018. She is the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. Hyde-Smith was a candidate in the 2018 U.S. Senate special election for the remainder of Cochran's term, which expired in 2021. She finished first in the top-two general election on November 6, 2018, but did not receive more than 50% of the vote, thus advancing to a November 27 special runoff election versus Mike Espy. Hyde-Smith won the runoff election, becoming the first woman elected to Congress from Mississippi. She was elected to a full six-year term in 2020 in a rematch with Espy.

In January 2021, Hyde-Smith joined a group of Republican senators who objected to certifying some swing states' electoral votes as part of an attempt to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.