Democrats See New Opportunity in Mississippi Senate Contest

WHO:

CNN - Scott Colom, a 43-year-old Democrat and local district attorney, is challenging Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith for a U.S. Senate seat in Mississippi.

CNN - Colom’s supporters include former Vice President Kamala Harris, who planned to campaign with him; President Barack Obama, who made an endorsement ad; all four Black Democratic U.S. senators, who visited Mississippi; and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

CNN - Mississippi NAACP executive director Charles Taylor said Colom would need strong turnout among Black voters and about 25% of White voters to win.

CNN - Hyde-Smith’s campaign manager, Jake Monssen, cited her work on infrastructure, rural health care, judicial confirmations, tax relief and border security in defending her record.

NBC News - Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, announced the Mississippi ad campaign. Spokesperson Lauren French said the group viewed Colom’s race as competitive.

NBC News - Hyde-Smith has President Trump’s endorsement. She was appointed to the Senate in 2018 and won a full term in 2020.

WHAT:

CNN - Senate Majority PAC announced a $1.2 million campaign to support Colom, including television and digital advertising. Its 30-second ad says he will “fight corruption in both parties” and calls Hyde-Smith a “do-nothing” incumbent.

NBC News - Senate Majority PAC said its ad campaign would run through Nov. 3; another NBC News report described it as running through Election Day.

NBC News - Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to take control of the chamber.

CNN - Colom has held 60 town halls and campaigned using a “Mississippi Matters” food truck serving customizable tacos. He raised nearly $4 million through the end of September.

CNN - The Mississippi NAACP operated 11 voter-registration sites, adding more than 17,000 people to voter rolls.

CNN - Mississippi Democratic primary voting rose 75% compared with 2018; Republican participation held steady. Democrat Brandon Presley lost the gubernatorial race to Gov. Tate Reeves by about three percentage points.

CNN - Mike Espy raised $12 million in his Senate bid against Hyde-Smith and lost by 10 points.

WHERE:

CNN - The Senate contest is in Mississippi, which CNN described as having a Black population of 35%, the largest share of any state.

CNN - Colom campaigned in Jackson, including at Jackson State University’s homecoming.

WHEN:

NBC News - Senate Majority PAC’s Mississippi ad campaign is scheduled to run through Nov. 3.

WHY:

NBC News - Colom said Hyde-Smith’s vote for President Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending law, which cut Medicaid funds, prompted him to run.

CNN - Colom and his allies argue that Republican political headwinds and Mississippi’s substantial Black electorate could make the state competitive.

(UPDATED October 21, 2026 11:01 UTC)

Democrat Scott Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney, is challenging Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, as Senate Majority PAC launches a $1.2 million television and digital ad campaign backing him. Colom says Hyde-Smith’s vote for President Trump’s tax and spending law, which cut Medicaid funds, helped spur his run; his supporters include former Vice President Kamala Harris, President Barack Obama and four Black Democratic senators, while Hyde-Smith has Trump’s endorsement. Colom has raised nearly $4 million, held 60 town halls and drawn support from voter-registration efforts, but the race faces the challenge of turning out Black voters and winning a share of White voters; the ad campaign is scheduled to run through Nov. 3.