Scott Colom narrows the gap with Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi as Democrats pour money into a high-stakes race
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Colom, a former district attorney, is within a few thousand votes of Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, where Democrats are hoping to flip the seat and make history.
Sen. Raphael Warnock framed the Mississippi Senate race as one that could alter the politics of a reliably Republican state, pointing to Mississippi’s larger share of Black voters compared with Georgia. Democratic candidate Scott Colom, a seventh-generation Mississippian and former district attorney, has challenged President Donald Trump to a debate and criticized the administration’s handling of the Epstein files and agricultural policies.
Colom’s campaign gained momentum after former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned for him before about 1,000 supporters in his hometown. In a local interview, Colom described the event as “a real special moment” and said the campaign was focused on issues such as the lack of health insurance for hundreds of thousands of Mississippians and the threat to rural hospitals from pending Medicaid cuts.
If elected, Colom would be the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction and the first Democrat to hold the seat since 1982, when John Stennis, a segregationist, left office. Current Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who has been criticized for limited visibility during her tenure, is narrowly behind Colom as vote counting continues.
Colom’s political background includes work as a municipal court judge, prosecutor, and district attorney for four counties. He was mentored by Rep. Bennie Thompson through the Mississippi Black Leadership Institute and was later nominated by President Joe Biden for a federal judgeship, a nomination blocked by Hyde-Smith.
Democratic leaders, including former Gov. Brandon Presley and consultants James Carville and Patrick Gaspard, have praised Colom’s grassroots strategy, which depends on high Black voter turnout and a significant share of the White vote. The campaign has received financial support from national figures such as Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who contributed over $1.4 million for advertising.
Polling data and campaign finance reports indicate that Democrats have outspent Republicans in the final weeks of the race, spending roughly $9 million to the GOP’s $3.9 million. Colom’s team says the close race reflects a shift in voter sentiment, with some Democrats describing the outcome as a possible long-term change in Mississippi’s political landscape.