Democrats are putting $1.2 million behind Scott Colom’s campaign for the U.S. Senate in Mississippi, signaling a new investment in a state where Republicans have maintained a strong electoral advantage.
According to The Associated Press, Senate Majority PAC, a group aligned with Senate Democratic leadership and Chuck Schumer, is launching a television and digital advertising campaign supporting Colom, a district attorney challenging Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
The advertising campaign begins Wednesday and will run statewide through Election Day on November 3. It marks the committee’s first investment in the contest during the current election cycle.
Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French said the organization had been monitoring the race and believes Colom has become a competitive challenger.
The advertisement focuses on Colom’s prosecutorial record while criticizing Hyde-Smith’s legislative performance. Its narrator claims the senator has failed to pass legislation during her time in office while voting to cut Medicaid access.
Those statements reflect the advertisement’s political messaging and should be assessed separately from the candidates’ broader legislative records.
The investment comes as Colom has reportedly outspent Hyde-Smith. Figures from AdImpact cited by the AP put Colom’s spending at approximately $4.6 million, compared with $3.2 million for Hyde-Smith, with roughly $8 million spent overall on the race.
Hyde-Smith’s campaign manager, Jake Monssen, dismissed the late advertising push and said voters would reject what he described as a radical agenda on November 3.
The financial support arrives despite the state’s long-standing Republican voting record. Donald Trump carried Mississippi by nearly 23 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, and no Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in the state since 1982.
However, Democrats have pointed to Hyde-Smith’s performance in 2020, when she ran approximately six points behind Trump in the state, as a reason to invest in the contest.
Colom’s potential victory would also carry historical significance: he would become Mississippi’s first Black U.S. senator since the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.
The campaign has attracted support from prominent Democrats. Sen. Raphael Warnock campaigned with Colom the previous week, while former Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to appear at a rally with him on Thursday, according to the supplied report.
Colom campaign manager Gerard Henderson credited volunteers and small-dollar donors with helping sustain the campaign, saying the operation had resources and momentum.
The spending decision comes amid a broader national battle for control of the Senate. Republicans currently hold a 53–47 majority, and Democrats are seeking opportunities to compete in states that have traditionally favored the GOP.
Warnock has publicly urged his party to commit more resources to Southern states. Speaking on Meet the Press, he warned that Democrats were “missing a real opportunity to invest in a serious and sustained way in the South.”
Senate Majority PAC has also announced spending in Kansas, where Democrat Adam Hamilton is challenging Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
Whether the late advertising investment can significantly change the Mississippi race remains uncertain. With Election Day approaching, Colom’s campaign faces the challenge of converting Democratic financial support and campaign appearances into enough votes to overcome the state’s Republican advantage.
