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JACKSON, Miss. — A Republican U.S. senator from Mississippi has taken her oath of office nearly three weeks after winning a special election.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith was administered the oath Monday in Washington by the Senate’s president pro tempore, Republican Orin Hatch of Utah.

It’s the second time Hyde-Smith has been sworn in to the Senate. The first time was in April, when she was appointed to temporarily succeed retired Republican Sen. Thad Cochran.

Hyde-Smith defeated Democratic challenger Mike Espy in a Nov. 27 special election runoff and will finish the final two years of the six-year term Cochran started.

State election officials last week certified the special election results, with Hyde-Smith winning 54 percent to Espy’s 46 percent.

Hyde-Smith is the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in either chamber of Congress.