Roger Wicker | |
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United States Senator from Mississippi | |
Assumed office December 31, 2007 Serving with Cindy Hyde-Smith | |
Preceded by | Trent Lott |
Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee | |
Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Jim Inhofe |
Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee | |
In office February 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Maria Cantwell |
Succeeded by | Ted Cruz |
Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee | |
In office January 3, 2019 – February 3, 2021 | |
Preceded by | John Thune |
Succeeded by | Maria Cantwell |
Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee | |
In office January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2017 | |
Leader | Mitch McConnell |
Preceded by | Jerry Moran |
Succeeded by | Cory Gardner |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 1st district | |
In office January 3, 1995 – December 31, 2007 | |
Preceded by | Jamie Whitten |
Succeeded by | Travis Childers |
Member of the Mississippi Senate from the 6th district | |
In office January 5, 1988 – January 3, 1995 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Alan Nunnelee |
Personal details | |
Born | Roger Frederick Wicker July 5, 1951 Pontotoc, Mississippi, U.S.[1] |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Gayle Long (m. 1975) |
Children | 3 |
Residence(s) | Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S. |
Education | University of Mississippi (BA, JD) |
Website | Senate website |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Air Force |
Years of service |
|
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Unit | Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps |
Roger Frederick Wicker (born July 5, 1951) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Mississippi, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, Wicker was a Mississippi State Senator from 1988 to 1995 and the U.S. Representative from Mississippi's 1st congressional district from 1995 until 2007.
Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Wicker is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi School of Law. He was an officer in the United States Air Force from 1976 to 1980 and a member of the United States Air Force Reserves from 1980 to 2003. During the 1980s, he worked as a political counselor to then-Congressman Trent Lott on the House Rules Committee. In 1987, Wicker was elected to the Mississippi State Senate, representing the 6th district, which included Tupelo.
Wicker was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, succeeding retiring 27-term Democratic Congressman Jamie Whitten. Wicker served in the House from 1995 to 2007, when he was appointed to the Senate by Governor Haley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Lott. Wicker subsequently won a special election for the remainder of the term in 2008 and was reelected to a full term in 2012. Wicker served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2015 to 2017 and is a deputy Republican whip. He was reelected in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee David Baria. He was reelected again in 2024, defeating Democratic nominee Ty Pinkins.