Mississippi Senate Race: Democrats Push for Upset in Red State

Ninety-nine percent of the money flowing into conservative Senate races has gone elsewhere, leaving Mississippi largely ignored until now. The state has the highest percentage of Black voters in the nation, at close to 40 percent, yet President Trump won it by 23 points in 2024. Democrats are betting that rural poverty and high prices can offset the strong racial divide that usually favors Republicans.

Scott Colom, the Democratic nominee and a district attorney, argues that national parties have historically neglected the state. He told NPR that Mississippi has not been a lost cause but a betrayed one. He claimed Democrats spent little money there while investing heavily in Iowa, Texas, Ohio, and Alaska.

The race pits Colom against Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. She blocked Colom’s nomination to a federal judgeship during the Biden administration. Both parties have recently rushed millions into the state. National polling suggests increased Democratic enthusiasm and higher Black turnout have made this deeply red race competitive.

Last Thursday, approximately 1,000 people gathered in a high school gym in Colom’s hometown to hear his closing message with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Attendees expressed frustration with the war in Iran, rising fuel costs, and Trump’s second term. Celestine Rice, an attendee, stated that the moral compass of the country is gone.

Harris urged the crowd to convert anger into action, noting the election was 12 days away. On Monday, Trump, Hyde-Smith, and other Mississippi Republicans held a rally in Corinth, about 100 miles north. Hyde-Smith described the contest as a choice between socialism and capitalism. She said, “Endorsements don’t win elections, votes win elections.”

Trump stated he attended because Hyde-Smith was performing well. He warned that supporters sometimes stay home when they believe a candidate is safe. Republicans have spent heavily on ads portraying Colom as too extreme. One ad, titled “Most Radical,” has cost the Hyde-Smith campaign more than $1.3 million, according to AdImpact.

Democrats have outspent Republicans this month, spending about $5 million compared to $3.2 million for Republicans. Their message focuses on the lack of difference between the unpopular president and down-ballot Republicans. Colom said voters in the state want to fire Hyde-Smith.

The race serves as a test for Black political power in the South. After a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year weakened the Voting Rights Act, many Southern Republican-led states redrew congressional maps to limit Black voting opportunities. Mississippi Republicans have indicated interest in redrawing state legislative and judicial districts after the midterms. Colom said, “The voters have to pick the leaders, not the leaders pick the voters.”

History presents a challenge for Colom. Mississippi last sent a Democrat to the Senate in the early 1980s. Its last successful Black statewide candidate won during Reconstruction. Hyde-Smith won her seat in a 2018 special election by roughly 7 points. Polls show an anti-incumbent streak and a rise in Black turnout in states with early voting. Ashley Kennedy Shelton, who runs a nonpartisan civic engagement group in Louisiana, said voters across the spectrum are tired. She said, “I think you’re going to see voters truly show up, because folks are just tired.”