President Donald Trump travels to Mississippi on Monday evening for a rally with Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. It is part of a closing midterm campaign push that, according to ABC News, highlights Republicans' challenges ahead of the Nov. 3 election 1.
Mississippi is among the nation's most reliably Republican states. It is "not where the GOP envisioned needing a late-October stop from the president," ABC reported 1. Trump's travel has been taking him to many states he won comfortably in 2024 1.
A Democrat with money and an ad
Hyde-Smith faces Scott Colom, a local prosecutor. He would be Mississippi's first Black senator since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era if he wins 1. ABC says Colom has outraised Hyde-Smith since he launched his campaign last year 1.
Colom drew national attention this month with an ad about beef prices, which have been pushed up by Trump's tariffs and by fuel spikes from the Iran war, ABC reported. The ad uses a clip of Hyde-Smith, a former state agriculture commissioner, saying consumers have so many other proteins to choose from 1.
From Channel GOPScott Colom on Trump's $2.2 billion crypto yearScott Colom · 127 plays · captioned, with the source named
have so many other proteins to choose from
Colom followed with a social media video featuring an AI-generated Hyde-Smith. He took it down after the Mississippi attorney general said it could violate a state law against deepfakes, meaning fake AI-made video, so close to Election Day 1.
Still the favorite, but not safe
ABC says Hyde-Smith remains the favorite in a state Trump won three times by an average of nearly 20 percentage points 1. Mississippians have not elected a new Democratic senator since 1947. The last Democratic Senate win there came in 1982 1.
The Senate Democrats' super PAC, an outside group that can spend unlimited money, has put in $1.2 million. That is small next to bigger states, but it can stretch further in Mississippi's smaller television markets 1.
What is at stake
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, so Democrats must flip at least four seats to take control 1. In the House, Democrats need a net gain of four seats 2.
Almost 30 million people have already voted 1. Democrats also keep widening the map. The House Majority PAC announced almost $2.5 million in new spending in Minnesota and Indiana districts once considered solid GOP territory 1.
Trump has urged voters to treat the election as a verdict on him, telling them to "pretend I’m on the ballot," The Guardian reported 2. The president's party has lost House seats in 18 of the past 20 midterm elections 2.
That matters because a president visiting Mississippi in the final week suggests his party sees risk in places it rarely worries about. Whether that risk turns into a Colom win is far less certain. Hyde-Smith is still favored 1.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris is campaigning in Wisconsin for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is running for governor. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky is helping Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia 1.
pick another senator instead
The Record
Sources
- ABC News, “Trump heads to Mississippi as the two parties prepare for final sprint ahead of midterm Election Day” (2026-10-26). abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-heads-mississippi-parti
- The Guardian, “What are the US midterm elections and why do they matter?” (2026-10-26). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/26/what-are-midterm-electio
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