WDAM-TV Hattiesburg
Sen. Hyde-Smith reflects on being first woman to represent Miss. in US Congress
By Caroline Wood
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - For International Women’s Day, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is discussing her role as the first female to represent Mississippi in the United States Congress, and the steps she took to get there.
Hyde-Smith became the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress in 2018 when she was appointed to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Thad Cochran.
“To be sworn in and having my family beside me, my hand on that Bible, it’s like, ‘OK, this is real,’” Hyde-Smith said. “It is just such an honor, it’s very humbling, but, you know, I just look at this as one of the greatest honors of my life and that’s what motivates you to get in there and work really hard.”
She is now serving her first full term in the Senate after being elected in November 2020. This isn’t the first time she’s been the first female to fill a government role for the Magnolia State.
“I ran for Ag Commissioner, a statewide elected position, and there had never been a woman Ag Commissioner before,” Hyde-Smith said. “And, you know, there was some comments like, ‘Why didn’t you run for Secretary of State. You know, Ag Commissioner is kind of the insinuation that’s a man’s job,’ but we got out and we worked really hard for that seat as well.”
She qualified to run for the Mississippi state Senate in 1999, a time when she says she juggled multiple responsibilities.
“My daughter was 5-weeks-old when I went to qualify, she was just a tiny, tiny baby in a car seat in 1999,” Hyde-Smith said.
She says though it wasn’t an easy path, it was worth it.
“I took on a 20-year incumbent,” Hyde-Smith said. “That was a tough race, but we were successful. But we worked really hard to do that with a 5-week-old baby, starting a campaign, and it was the best decision I’ve made.”
She has this message to any young girl interested in a career in politics.
“I just say get out there and do it,” Hyde-Smith said. “If that is something that interests you, if that’s something that kind of strikes your chord, there’s a place for you. I say dive in. You know, the water is just fine. There’s sharks in it, but we can swim, and we can survive those sharks.”