NATCHEZ — Leaders in Adams County said Southwest Mississippi would lose a great advocate with the retirement of Sen. Thad Cochran.

Cochran, a long-time U.S. senator from Mississippi, announced his retirement Monday afternoon, citing health issues as his impetus.

Cochran recently entered his 40th year as a senator, the 10th-longest serving senator in U.S. history.

In a statement Monday, Cochran said he regrets that his health became an ongoing challenge, and that he would retire April 1.

Senior United States District Court judge for the southern district of Mississippi David Bramlette III said he first met Cochran in law school.

“It was obvious that Thad would lead a successful and meaningful life,” Bramlette said. “He is a man of unquestioned integrity who never allowed political issues to diminish the exemplary standards he set for himself.”

Bramlette said Cochran would be missed, but that historians would recount the legacy he leaves.

“He is highly respected in Washington by Republicans, Democrats and independents,” Bramlette said. “He will be recognized by historians as one of the most influential and productive United States senators to ever serve the state of Mississippi.”

Marion Smith, a former state senator, said he first met Thad Cochran in 1972, when Cochran was elected to the House of Representatives.

“Basically, anytime Southwest Mississippi needed something, he was our go-to guy,” Smith said.

So much time has passed, Smith said, that he does not remember the details of the first time he and Cochran met approximately 50 years ago.

“He became our man,” Smith said. “Whenever we needed something from Washington, Thad was the first call we made.”

That comradery turned to friendship, Smith said, as the years went on.

“We became such good friends,” Smith said. “And we’ve been friends for a long time.”

Carolyn Vance Smith, Smith’s wife and former co-chair of the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, said she, too, became close friends with Cochran.

“The senator helped me begin the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration by supporting the very first conference in 1990 with his presence in Natchez and by continuing to attend, speak and help with programming, funding and promotion for the past three decades,” Vance Smith said. “The senator has helped (Southwest) Mississippi in thousands of other ways throughout his career, just as he has helped all of our state and the nation. He is a true statesman.”

Smith said he hopes the senator to take Cochran’s place will place a similar importance on Adams County.

Adams County Supervisor Mike Lazarus said he shares that concern.

“I hope it’s someone who thinks like him, who thinks of Southwest Mississippi,” Lazarus said.  “We have to stay on track with our projects, and Mr. Cochran is our go-to guy.”

Lazarus said Cochran has been a great and influential leader for the region.

“He has done so much for our part of the state, and he’s been a great friend to us,” he said.

Lazarus said he had just come on as a supervisor for Adams County when he met Cochran.

In his role as supervisor and later as president of the board of supervisors, Lazarus met with Cochran several times to discuss funding and legislative needs for Adams County.

“He was always so gracious,” Lazarus said. “He gave you as much time as you needed to say what you had to say.”

As chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, Cochran had both seniority and sway, both of which will be sorely missed, Lazarus said.

“He was a really important senator, and we built a really good relationship,” Lazarus said. “That takes time. I just hate to lose him.”