Democrat Scott Colom eyes an upset in deep-red Mississippi's Senate race

Democrats have become unusually optimistic in Mississippi, a state known as a deep-red Republican stronghold, about flipping a United States Senate seat. In a climate where polls show President Donald Trump's approval ratings cratering, they hope Democratic candidate Scott Colom can take the seat held by incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.

If Colom won, he would be Mississippi's first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction. That possibility is one big reason major Democrats and Republicans have been flocking to Mississippi in recent weeks.

In an interview with ABC News earlier this week, Colom said the state needs a senator who looks out for Mississippi, puts Mississippi farmers first and small businesses first, represents its values by not allowing corruption to ruin the country, and actually delivers on the commitments to put America first.

Colom is a district attorney for four counties along the Mississippi–Alabama border and a former nominee to become a U.S. district judge. Democrats argue that his prominent credentials, voter pushback against Republican incumbents and motivation among Democratic-leaning Black voters could boost him. According to U.S. Census data, around 36 percent of Mississippi's population is Black.

Colom nevertheless faces an uphill battle. Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982, and the state voted for Donald Trump in 2024 by around 20 points. ABC News rates the race as solid Republican.

Even so, Colom has drawn the attention of national Democrats. Major party figures such as former Vice President Kamala Harris and Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock have campaigned with him. Former President Barack Obama also recorded an advertisement for him, released earlier this month.

At a rally with Colom on Thursday, Harris told attendees she had been in the rooms where there are no cameras and senators talk to each other. She asked them to think about the impact a voice like his would have on the decisions coming out of that room, saying this is no ordinary time, and this is no ordinary man.

Last week Colom also went viral online. In a local news interview from February, Hyde-Smith, discussing how to deal with higher prices on meat and other goods, said: 'You have so many proteins to choose from.' A social video posted by Colom highlighted that remark. In the same interview, Hyde-Smith had also spoken about regulations to help energy production and tax incentives to help development.

But it was the proteins remark that went viral. Colom's campaign built a punchy video around it in which voters mocked the senator's words, with one saying they would rather pick another senator instead of another protein. The campaign confirmed to ABC News that the video has been turned into a campaign advertisement.

One concrete sign of Democratic confidence came on Tuesday, when the Senate Majority PAC, an outside group aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, announced it would spend $1.2 million on broadcast television and digital advertising for Colom. Its spokesperson Lauren French said Cindy Hyde-Smith had spent a decade in Washington without passing a single piece of legislation, and Mississippians had noticed. She said Colom was running a disciplined campaign with messages resonating with voters.

Hyde-Smith's camp, by contrast, dismisses the Democratic push as a last-ditch effort to give life to a failing campaign. According to congressional records, legislation Hyde-Smith cosponsored has passed into law, but bills she initially sponsored or reintroduced have not become law. Her campaign responded that lawmakers' bills are often passed as part of larger legislative packages, as was true of some of her bills including the first one she introduced, and noted she is running for only her second full term. Campaign manager Jake Monssen said they are confident Mississippians will once again send Hyde-Smith back to the Senate on November 3rd.

The two candidates also have history. Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's nomination for federal judge in 2023. According to the Mississippi Free Press, she cited his support for transgender rights and his having previously been boosted by a George Soros-linked PAC. Colom insists his Senate bid is not motivated by a desire for revenge. As a Christian, he said, he forgives her — the run is about the people of Mississippi.

Hyde-Smith may gain late momentum from Trump. The president is set to hold a rally in Mississippi on Monday as part of a swing of campaign rallies mostly in red states. The Republican National Committee announced the rally around a week after Colom's social video went viral, although neither Trump nor the committee indicated why the rally is being held there, and Trump has expressed confidence in Hyde-Smith. On Thursday he told reporters Hyde-Smith was very popular and great, and that if he needed to get her over the top, he would go to Mississippi. According to her campaign, Hyde-Smith will attend the rally.