With one week before the election, Democrat Scott Colom mounted a campaign to unseat Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race. The contest has drawn national attention and prompted significant shifts in Democratic strategy toward the state, which has been reliably Republican for decades.
Republican officials, including former President Donald Trump, campaigned actively in Mississippi to support Hyde-Smith. Trump’s visit to Corinth underscored Republican concerns about the race’s competitiveness. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee initially excluded the race from a major $40 million investment in battleground states announced in August, but numerous national Democratic figures subsequently campaigned across Mississippi in October. Colom characterized the state as having been historically abandoned by national Democrats, arguing the party had signaled indifference to its Black and white supporters. He emphasized contrasting his message with Trump voters’ stated priorities, claiming their votes for economic and foreign policy changes had gone unfulfilled.
Colom’s political background includes his 2015 election as the first Black district attorney for the 16th circuit, defeating a nearly 30-year incumbent. His family has deep Mississippi roots; his father was a longtime Republican who supported Ronald Reagan. However, the state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1982, and has not elected a Black senator since 1875. Hyde-Smith has served in the Senate for eight years.
Academic observers noted that Mississippi’s Democratic base, composed largely of lower-income voters, faces structural fundraising challenges. University of Mississippi political science professor Marvin King stated that national Democrats have historically deprioritized red states, though Mississippi Democrats specifically struggle with internal fundraising capacity. Colom’s campaign involved extensive grassroots organizing, beginning with only four attendees at his first Jackson town hall and expanding through festivals, housing projects, and community events across the state.
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