Scott Colom (Photo from Colom's Facebook)
- Biden nominated the Lowndes County DA to be a federal judge. Republican U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked the nomination. Then Chuck Schumer recruited Colom to run against her.
After months of speculation, Mississippi Democrats now have their preferred candidate in the race for U.S. Senate in the 2026 midterms – Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom.
Colom’s entry in the race against sitting Republican U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith comes as no surprise. It has been years in the making after Hyde-Smith did not return a “blue slip” for Colom in 2023 when President Joe Biden (D) nominated him for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.
The “blue slip” process is a sign-off Senators have on district court nominees in their home states. Return the slip and the process moves forward. Choose not to return it and it’s essentially a veto of the nominee by the Senator.
Hyde-Smith’s opposition to Colom’s federal judicial appointment was rooted in her want to protect women’s sports and oppose the furtherance of left-leaning causes supported by Democrat financier George Soros.
“As someone with a strong interest in protecting the rights of girls and women, I am concerned about Scott Colom’s opposition to legislation to protect female athletes,” Senator Hyde-Smith said in April 2023. “The significant support his campaign received from George Soros also weighs heavily against his nomination in my view. I simply cannot support his nomination to serve on the federal bench in Mississippi for a lifetime.”
Magnolia Tribune previously reported that Soros was the sole funder of the “Mississippi Safety & Justice PAC,” donating nearly $1 million to support Colom’s bid for DA in the 16th Judicial District as well as Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith’s re-election campaign. Colom received over $700,000 in “independent expenditures” from the PAC.
Also previously reported, an article in the New York Times from earlier this year noted that U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Party strategists were “thinking outside the box” and “looking for political lottery tickets” in Republican strongholds like Mississippi in the 2026 cycle. The articles noted that Schumer told associates that he sees an intriguing opportunity in Mississippi, “which has the largest percentage of Black residents of any state.”
“One possible candidate there is Scott Colom, a district attorney who was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to a federal judgeship — only to be blocked by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, whom Mr. Colom would be running against in 2026,” the New York Times reported. “The state is also appealing for Democrats because it is small and relatively cheap to compete in.”
In his announcement Tuesday morning, Colom speaks of himself as a tough on crime District Attorney who is against Medicaid cuts and the extension of the 2017 federal tax cuts that were included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act.
“For the last ten years I’ve worked as the District Attorney here in Northeast Mississippi where I’ve won 94% of my trials and solved a record number of cold cases. But the best crime stopper is a job and an education. Cindy Hyde-Smith doesn’t get that because she’s too concerned about her job in D.C.,” Colom says in his announcement video. “And her latest vote is gonna run up our debt, kick over a hundred thousand Mississippians off their health care, and put our hospitals at risk – all so billionaires in California and New York can get a tax break.”
Colom goes on to note that his father “was a Republican who worked for Ronald Reagan” and his mother was a judge. The Democrat candidate said he wants to eliminate income tax for teachers and police officers and “save Mississippi’s hospitals.”
As of this reporting, no federal campaign statement of organization or campaign finance form is showing as filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by Colom.
Colom will have at least one primary challenger, newcomer Albert Little. Little, who filed to run in June, shows zero dollars raised thus far.
As for Hyde-Smith, she has now drawn two Republican primary opponents, newcomer Sarah Adlakha and Andrew Scott Smith, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Mississippi’s 2nd District in 2024.
Hyde-Smith, who has once again been endorsed by President Donald Trump (R), is sitting on roughly $1.5 million cash on hand in her campaign account.
Of the sitting Mississippi Senator, Trump wrote on Truth Social in May, “Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is 100% MAGA, and doing a fantastic job representing the Incredible People of Mississippi! An Original Member of my Mississippi Leadership Team, Cindy has been with us from the very beginning. In the Senate, Cindy is fighting hard to Secure our Border, Grow the Economy, Champion our Amazing Farmers and American Agriculture, Support our Brave Military/Veterans, Promote Energy DOMINANCE, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”
Republican challenger Adlakha has just over $200,000 but those funds mostly came by way of a loan to the campaign. Smith, a recent entrant in the race, has not reported any funds raised at this point.
In addition, the Democrat and Republican party nominees will face Democrat-turned-Independent Ty Pinkins in the November 2026 General Election, along with any other independent candidates that may emerge between now and the end of the qualifying period.
