Cotton, Tom (1977-…), became a United States senator in 2015. Cotton, a Republican , represents Arkansas . Prior to his election to the Senate , Cotton had served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives .
Thomas Bryant Cotton was born in Dardanelle, Arkansas, on May 13, 1977. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1998 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 2002. He then worked as a law clerk for a federal judge and as a lawyer in private practice. After enlisting in the U.S. Army in 2004, Cotton served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served on the Old Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. After leaving active duty in 2009, Cotton worked as a management consultant.
Cotton was elected to represent Arkansas’s 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. As a congressman, Cotton favored slashing many government programs and spoke out strongly against gun control and immigration reform measures. In 2014, Cotton defeated incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Pryor for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
