Senate Democrats Invest in Mississippi Race

Senate Democrats’ principal campaign spending organization has taken decisive action in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race, marking its first engagement this year. This initiative occurs in a traditionally Republican state, indicating the party’s offensive stance as Republicans strive to maintain a slender majority.

The Senate Majority PAC, connected to Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, commits $1.2 million to a new TV advertisement supporting Scott Colom, a district attorney, in his contest against Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican. The advertisement, which will air starting Wednesday and run through Election Day, was revealed to The Associated Press.

Spokesperson Lauren French from the Senate Majority PAC commented, “Senate Majority PAC has been watching this race closely, and it is clear Colom is running a competitive race that has put Hyde-Smith on her heels.” With only two weeks remaining, the ad’s impact remains uncertain. However, it represents a noteworthy investment in a race with roughly $8 million total spending. Colom has spent nearly $4.6 million, compared to Hyde-Smith’s $3.2 million, based on AdImpact data.

Hyde-Smith’s campaign manager, Jake Monssen, remarked on the timing of the expenditure, stating, “Team Cindy is confident that voters will reject this radical agenda at the ballot box on November 3rd.” Despite the historically Republican dominance in Mississippi, Democrats see potential vulnerabilities in Hyde-Smith’s candidacy. Appointed and elected since 2018, she faces reelection in a state where Donald Trump surpassed Democrat Kamala Harris by nearly 23 percentage points in the presidential race.

While no Democrat has won a Senate race in Mississippi since 1982, Hyde-Smith showed weaker performance against Trump, trailing him by 6 percentage points in 2020. The television ad highlights Colom’s experience as district attorney while portraying Hyde-Smith as ineffective. The narrator in the ad states, “A decade in power, Hyde-Smith hasn’t passed one piece of legislation, but she did vote to kick people off Medicaid.” This will air statewide alongside digital efforts.

Gerard Henderson, Colom’s campaign manager, emphasized community support, saying, “thousands of Mississippians volunteered and chipped in.” This backing has made the race competitive against an incumbent senator. “We clearly have the resources and momentum to win,” Henderson asserted.

Colom has instilled Democratic optimism amid favorable electoral conditions, confirmed by Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock’s recent campaign with him. Soon, Harris will join Colom for an upcoming rally.

The Republican-held Senate majority stands at 53-47, with an anticipated favorable landscape due to fewer seats to defend. Nonetheless, economic challenges and gas prices during an unpopular war in Iran under a Republican president have fueled Democratic optimism. Consequently, the Senate Majority PAC is investing in traditionally conservative regions like Mississippi.

Colom’s potential victory would herald Mississippi’s first Black senator since Reconstruction, a 12-year period post-Civil War marked by the enactment of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

Some Democrats, however, have critiqued the national strategy for inadequately funding Southern states, according to Warnock who shared his concerns on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”