Democrats outspend GOP $5 million to $3.2 million in Mississippi Senate race

Mississippi's U.S. Senate race has drawn late millions from both parties a week before Election Day, Nov. 3. Democrat Scott Colom, a district attorney, is challenging Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith ¹. Independent Ty Pinkins is also on the ballot ².

On paper, the state looks like a place for an upset. Mississippi has the highest share of Black voters in the country, close to 40%, and it is among the poorest states, so higher prices hit harder ¹.

On tapeScott Colom · Oct 26

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The money

Democrats have spent about $5 million this month in the race, against $3.2 million for Republicans, NPR reported ¹. The Hyde-Smith campaign has spent more than $1.3 million on one ad, titled "Most Radical," according to data from AdImpact, a firm that tracks political ad spending ¹.

Colom says national Democrats have long ignored the state. Other Senate races in Iowa, Texas, Ohio and Alaska have drawn hundreds of millions of dollars, NPR reported, while Mississippi has been largely left out of campaign investment ¹.

From Channel GOPColom: 200,000 Mississippians lost health insurance this yearScott Colom · 143 plays · captioned, with the source named

The reality is, Mississippi has never been a lost cause, we've been a betrayed cause

Harris and Trump both come to town

Former Vice President Kamala Harris rallied with Colom on Thursday, Oct. 22, in a Columbus high school gym. The campaign said more than 1,000 people RSVP'd, and NPR counted about a thousand attendees ¹². Harris called the Trump administration "the most callous, corrupt and incompetent presidential administration we have ever experienced" ¹.

President Trump held a rally for Hyde-Smith on Monday in Corinth, about a hundred miles up the road ¹. He said he came because she was in good shape, and he feared her voters might not turn out ¹.

Sometimes when you think somebody's doing so well, nobody votes

Hyde-Smith told the crowd the race is "socialism versus capitalism." Her campaign manager, Jake Monssen, said Mississippians would "once again send Cindy Hyde-Smith to the U.S. Senate" ¹.

History is still a hurdle

The odds remain long. Trump won the state by 23 points in 2024, and voting is extremely racially polarized. Not enough white voters back Democrats for the party to win statewide ¹.

The last Democratic senator from Mississippi came in the early 1980s. Even in the 2018 Democratic wave, Hyde-Smith won a special election for this seat by roughly 7 points ¹.

NPR said several factors have both parties on edge. They include an anti-incumbent mood in polls and primaries, plus a significant rise in Black turnout in states with early voting ¹.

The race also touches voting rights. Southern Republican-led states have redrawn congressional maps to reduce Black voters' chances of electing their preferred candidates, after a Supreme Court ruling this year rolled back part of the Voting Rights Act ¹. Mississippi Republicans have signaled they want to redraw state legislative and judicial districts after the midterms ¹.

That matters because a Senate race cannot be gerrymandered, or drawn around voters. It is one of the few contests where every vote counts equally. Colom put it this way: "The voters have to pick the leaders, not the leaders pick the voters" ¹.

Hyde-Smith also blocked Colom's nomination to be a federal judge during the Biden administration, NPR reported ¹. Whether the late money and turnout can overcome the state's history will be known on Nov. 3.

The Record

1. Nov 27, 2018Hyde-Smith won a special election for this Senate seat by roughly 7 points, even in a Democratic wave year ¹.
2. Nov 5, 2024Trump won Mississippi by 23 points ¹.
3. Oct 22, 2026Kamala Harris rallied with Scott Colom in Columbus, Miss. ¹².
4. Oct 26, 2026Trump rallied for Hyde-Smith in Corinth, Miss. ¹.

Sources

1. NPR, “Can Black voting power and Trump fatigue break Mississippi's red wall?” (2026-10-27). npr.org/2026/10/27/nx-s1-6018592/mississippi-senate-trump-co
2. WLOX, “Kamala Harris, Scott Colom rally in Columbus” (2026-10-22). wlox.com/2026/10/22/kamala-harris-scott-colom-rally-columbus

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