Photo: Scott Colom/Instagram
Mississippi could elect its first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction as national Democrats increase their investment in the state’s Senate race ahead of the November midterms.
On Tuesday (October 20), the Senate Majority PAC, a group aligned with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, announced a $1.2 million television ad buy supporting Democratic nominee Scott Colom, according to the Associated Press.
The ads are scheduled to begin Wednesday (October 21) and run through Election Day on November 3.
The ad highlights Colom’s record as a district attorney while criticizing Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith over her legislative record and opposition to Medicaid expansion, the AP reported.
Hyde-Smith’s campaign called Colom too liberal for Mississippi, according to Mississippi Today.
CNN reported that Democrats are expanding their electoral map into traditionally Republican states, looking to Mississippi’s large Black electorate as a potential factor in the race. President Donald Trump carried Mississippi by nearly 23 percentage points in 2024, according to the AP.
Colom has focused his campaign on affordability, health care and allegations of corruption. In an October 13 CNN interview, he argued that Mississippi residents were struggling with rising costs and said national Democrats had overlooked the state.
The U.S. Senate Historical Office identifies Hiram Revels, who took office in 1870, as the first Black senator. Mississippi elected Blanche K. Bruce, the second Black senator in U.S. history, in 1875.
Bruce left office in 1881, and no Black senator has represented Mississippi in the U.S. Senate since.
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