Democrats push Scott Colom into US Senate race against Hyde-Smith

Scott Colom has entered a contest to win a United States Senate seat from Mississippi, challenging incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. The 43-year-old district attorney acknowledges the difficulty of winning in a state that has not elected a Democrat since nearly four decades ago and had no Black candidate statewide for over half a century following Reconstruction. Despite President Donald Trump's victory by twenty-three points two years prior, Colom argues Mississippi is becoming competitive due to Republican political headwinds and its thirty-five percent Black electorate, which remains the largest in any state. He notes that Democrats have historically avoided competing there because they do not perform well when absent from campaigns. His campaign has gained significant support; former Vice President Kamala Harris will join him on the trail this week, President Barack Obama recently endorsed him with an advertisement, all four Black Democratic senators in the United States Senate visited the state recently, and a major super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to spend one point two million dollars on advertising. Colom described Mississippi as a betrayed cause rather than a lost cause.