Senate Democrats Target Mississippi as Colom Challenges Hyde-Smith

Democrats are expanding their efforts to compete in traditionally Republican territory as the 2026 U.S. Senate elections approach, committing $1.2 million to an advertising campaign supporting prosecutor Scott Colom in Mississippi against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Senate Majority PAC announced the campaign on October 20, with television and digital advertisements scheduled to run through Election Day on November 3.

The investment signals Democrats' willingness to contest deeply Republican states as they seek to regain control of the Senate. According to NBC News, Democrats need a net gain of four seats to secure a majority. President Donald Trump won Mississippi by 23 percentage points in 2024, and the state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1982.

The initial 30-second advertisement presents Colom as a candidate who will "fight corruption in both parties" and characterizes Hyde-Smith as a "do-nothing" incumbent. Lauren French, spokesperson for Senate Majority PAC, said the group believes the race has become competitive enough to warrant the investment.

"Senate Majority PAC has been watching this race closely, and it is clear Colom is running a competitive race that has put Hyde-Smith on her heels," said Lauren French, spokesperson for Senate Majority PAC.

The organization is aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and has also directed resources toward Kansas, Alaska, Texas and Iowa, states Trump carried by double-digit margins in 2024. The Mississippi campaign represents its move into the most Republican-leaning state it has targeted so far.

Colom, a district attorney who announced his Senate candidacy the previous year, has argued that Hyde-Smith's support for Trump's tax and spending legislation helped motivate his decision to run. He objected to provisions that reduced Medicaid funding. The campaign also carries a history between the two candidates: Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's nomination for a federal judgeship during the Biden administration, although Colom said he had forgiven her when he entered the race.

Hyde-Smith, who has Trump's endorsement, entered the Senate in 2018 through an appointment and won a full term in 2020 by 10 percentage points. She is seeking another full term in the November election.

A separate assessment published October 17 by The Dispatch, a Mississippi newspaper, endorsed Colom and criticized Hyde-Smith's legislative record and accessibility. The editorial board cited Colom's decade as district attorney, including prosecutions of major violent crimes and reviews of past convictions when questions arose about the evidence. It also highlighted his efforts to expand rehabilitation options for nonviolent offenders.

The Dispatch editorial argued that Hyde-Smith had been ineffective in advancing legislation and representing constituents. According to the newspaper, only four of her bills had advanced out of committee during eight years in the Senate, and portions of just one bill had been combined with another measure that became law. The editorial also cited rankings from the Center for Effective Lawmaking that placed Hyde-Smith 46th among 49 Republican senators in the 118th Congress and last in the 117th Congress.

The newspaper further criticized Hyde-Smith for declining to debate opponents, not holding a town hall during her Senate tenure and providing limited access to media interviews. It pointed to her response to rising beef prices, in which she noted that consumers could choose other protein sources, as an example of what the editorial considered inadequate advocacy for Mississippi's farmers, ranchers and consumers.

Despite its endorsement, The Dispatch acknowledged that Colom would likely need support from some Republican voters to win in a state where Republicans have dominated recent elections. The November 3 contest will determine whether Hyde-Smith retains her Senate seat or Colom becomes Mississippi's next senator.