WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 17: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) walks away after swearing in Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) during a ceremonial swearing in, inside the old Senate Chamber on December 17, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Smith beat Democrat Mike Espy in a Former Republican U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch died Saturday at the age of 88, according to the Hatch Foundation.
The foundation said he passed away at 5:30 p.m. local time surrounded by family. A cause of death was not given. "Senator Orrin G.
Hatch personified the American Dream," Matt Sandgren, Executive Director of the Hatch Foundation said in a news release. "Born the son of a carpenter and plaster lather, he overcame the poverty of his youth to become a United States Senator. RELATED: RNC votes to withdraw from Commission on Presidential DebatesHatch served as U.S.