Democrats jump into Mississippi Senate race

Senate Democrats’ top super PAC announced Tuesday it is launching an ad campaign in the Mississippi Senate race as Democrats seek inroads in Republican-leaning states to try to flip the Senate majority.

Senate Majority PAC announced a $1.2 million ad campaign in the state through Election Day, beginning with a 30-second spot that boosts prosecutor Scott Colom as a Democrat who will “fight corruption in both parties” and casts GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith as a “do-nothing” incumbent.

“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,” Lauren French, the super PAC’s spokesperson, said in a statement, adding that the group will be advertising on TV and digital platforms.

Senate Majority PAC, which is aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has been shifting its focus to deep-red states as President Donald Trump’s approval ratings sink. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win control of the Senate, which means flipping multiple states Trump won handily in 2024.

Mississippi is the reddest state the group has jumped into so far — Trump won it by 23 percentage points two years ago. A Democrat has not won a Senate race in Mississippi since 1982.

Senate Majority PAC is also spending in Kansas, which Trump won by 16 points, and other states Trump won by double digits in 2024, including Alaska, Texas and Iowa.

Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, have long touted Colom as a strong candidate. Colom, a district attorney, told NBC News when he launched his campaign last year that Hyde-Smith’s vote to support Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending law, which cut Medicaid funds, spurred him to run.

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Colom and Hyde-Smith have history from before this year’s Senate race. Hyde-Smith blocked Colom’s nomination for a federal judgeship during the Biden administration. Colom said when he launched his campaign that he had forgiven her.

Hyde-Smith, who has Trump’s endorsement, is running for her second full term after she was appointed to the Senate in 2018. She won a full term in 2020 by 10 points.