On May 13, 1977, in the heart of Arkansas, Thomas Bryant Cotton was born into a world where duty and perseverance would define his life. Raised with a deep respect for service, he carried those values into adulthood, shaping a career that would take him from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to the chambers of the United States Senate.
Cotton's journey into public service began not in politics, but in the military. After earning his degree from Harvard University, he answered the call to serve, joining the United States Army. As an infantry officer, he was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, witnessing firsthand the complexities of global conflicts. His experiences in uniform instilled in him a firm belief in American strength and a commitment to protecting the nation from foreign adversaries.