Scott Colom (From Colom for Senate Facebook page video)
- The leading Democratic candidate running for U.S. Senate in Mississippi is noticeably absent from a list of potential pickups shared by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Senate Democrats believe they have a path to regain the majority in the U.S. Senate in this midterm cycle, but Mississippi is noticeably absent from the list of potential pickups shared by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
In an interview with the New York Times, Senator Schumer (D-NY) “was confident enough to name an exact path to victory: flipping Alaska, Maine, North Carolina and Ohio, while successfully defending all of the states Democrats now hold.”
“We have a strong and clear path to winning the Senate in 2026,” Schumer told the New York Times as he sat for the interview Tuesday at the Senate Democratic headquarters in Washington D.C.
Schumer touted “a series of blue-chip Senate recruits,” including Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman who entered Alaska’s race, former Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio, two-term Governor Janet Mills in Maine, and former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina.
However, Schumer did not mention Mississippi or Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom, who appeared early on to be the Democratic Party’s preferred Magnolia State candidate challenging incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Also previously reported, an article also in the New York Times from May 2025 noted that 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 article floated Colom’s name and noted that Schumer told associates that he sees an intriguing opportunity in Mississippi, “which has the largest percentage of black residents of any state.”
Yet, eight months later, Colom’s race does not appear to be top of mind for Schumer and Senate Democrats.
This should not come as a surprise, particularly early in the election cycle. Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to serve in the U.S. Senate since 1982. Republicans control all eight statewide offices, both state commissions, and majorities in the state Senate and House of Representatives.
In addition, Senator Hyde-Smith’s re-election bid has been endorsed by the sitting Republican President who is widely popular among Magnolia State voters.
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.”
Hyde-Smith was appointed by former Governor Phil Bryant (R) to fill the U.S. Senate seat held by former Senator Thad Cochran who stepped down in 2018. She won the 2018 special election to fill the unexpired U.S. Senate term, defeating former Agricultural Secretary Espy, a Democrat, in a runoff election by nearly 8 points. Hyde-Smith then won a full six-year term in 2020, again defeating Espy by 10 points.
Colom also faces significant financial headwinds assuming he gets through the three-person Democratic Primary on March 10. He reported a cash on hand campaign finance total of $576,000 at the end of September while Hyde-Smith showed $2.34 million. Yet, Colom does have Democratic Party powerbrokers George and Alexander Soros, Stacey Abrams, Dickie and Diane Scruggs, and Richard Schwartz among his list of donors.
New reports are to be filed with the Federal Election Commission by January 31.
