Next generation of Soros hosts fundraiser for Scott Colom

Last week, Alex Soros, the son and heir apparent of George Soros’ sprawling political empire, hosted a New York fundraiser for Scott Colom. Colom is running as a Democrat to unseat sitting U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.

The fundraiser served as a backdrop for a larger story in the New York Times covering the battle between the Soros family and the Trump administration. Three anonymous sources told the Times the event was intended to be private.

That the Soros family is supporting Scott Colom’s candidacy is, in some respects, unsurprising. Magnolia Tribune previously shared records that showed that George Soros was the sole donor to a political action committee that made $716,000 in expenditures to support Colom’s successful 2015 bid to unseat former District Attorney Forrest Allgood in the 16th Judicial District.

But for his part, Colom has always sought to distance himself from the donation. In 2015, Colom told the Clarion Ledger he had no contact with George Soros, no control over the funds given, and that he was not aware of the gift until after radio ads paid for by the Soros’ funded PAC began running. “It doesn’t matter how much money I had. It was the message,” Colom said at the time.

When former President Joe Biden announced Colom as a nominee for a federal district judge post in Mississippi, his now opponent opposed his nomination on the basis of Soros’ support and a 2021 letter Colom signed related to transgender minors. That letter criticized states that imposed restrictions on medical interventions to help minors change their gender.

Mississippi passed a law in 2021 preventing boys who identify as girls from participating in girls sports. Colom has since clarified that he does not favor allowing male athletes to play against female athletes.

Having a fundraiser thrown by Alex Soros in New York could make Colom’s previous attempts at distancing and disavowal from the Soros machine more difficult to swallow for some voters. It might signal a shift in strategy — a recognition that the association cannot be evaded and a subsequent leaning into it. It could also signal a flub in the discretion of attendees, particularly given the Times’ reporting that its sources required anonymity because the event was intended to be private.

The younger Soros, in some respects, has been more vocal and edgier than his 95 year-old father. As the Trump administration has questioned the operation and expenditures of Soros’ $23 billion “Open Society Foundations,” Alex Soros is reported to have said the organizations will cave to the administration “over my dead body.”