Mississippi hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982. Scott Colom believes he will change that November 3

Mississippi hasn't elected a.

Key points

• That statistic is in question, in that the 2026 Democratic Primary drew almost 151, 000 voters, with Colom receiving just under 80% of the vote.
• In 2015, Colom ousted a almost 30-year incumbent to win the District Attorney seat in the 16th Circuit Court District.
• He remarked he received the backing of Congressman Bennie Thompon (D), Senator Roger Wicker (R), Congressman Trent Kelly (R) and former Republican governors.
• Yet, it was Hyde-Smith who did not return a "blue slip" for Colom in 2023 after Biden nominated him for the U.S.
• From votes against the federal infrastructure bill to funding on bills that impact the state, Colom contends Hyde-Smith has a record of not properly serving Mississippians.

Mississippi hasn't elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982. Scott Colom believes he will change that November 3. By: Frank Corder – October 29, 2026. (Photo from Colom's Facebook page).

Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Scott Colom visited with Magnolia Tribune in July for a wide-ranging interview this week to discuss his campaign as well as the problems Mississippians are talking concerning in this midterm election.

To hear Scott Colom tell it, his decision to run for U.S. Senate against Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican, did not come regarding from being recruited by Chuck Schumer or the Democratic Party.

"It wasn't anything to do with D.C. Let me just say that straight off the bat, " Colom informed Magnolia Tribune.

Colom sat for a wide-ranging interview with Magnolia Tribune in July to discuss his campaign. The Lowndes County District Attorney addressed the policy positions he has created a central part of his messaging as he travels the state, matters Colom believes Mississippi voters care regarding most.

Colom's entrance in the race came in September 2025 after years of speculation that he was indeed the Mississippi Democratic Party's chosen candidate to run against Hyde-Smith this cycle.

Democrats obtain their man: Colom's entry in Mississippi U.S. Senate race has been years in the making.

Notably, the independent running against both Colom and Hyde-Smith, Ty Pinkins, remarked as much when he left the Democratic Party after being called on to step aside to allow another candidate, presumably Colom, to take the lead in the midterm.

Colom remarked his desire to run for U.S. Senate grew out of being denied a hearing when he was nominated for a federal judicial post by former President Joe Biden (D).

"What happened is, you know, I've been DA up here 10 years. I was blessed to be elected when I was 32 years old and really proud of my record of service. I've obtained a 94% conviction rate, secured a reputation for keeping the courtroom fair, " Colom noted. "And, you know, I was honored to be nominated to be a federal judge."

"So, I thought with all that, with all of the sheriffs and officials that supported me I thought there was a track record that would at least allow me to get a hearing, " Colom remarked.

Yet, it was Hyde-Smith who did not return a "blue slip" for Colom in 2023 after Biden nominated him for the U.S. 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 is essentially a veto of the nominee by the Senator.

In an official note on why she did not backing Colom's nomination to the federal bench, Senator Hyde-Smith informed Magnolia Tribune in 2023, "I will not return the blue slip on the nomination of Scott Colom to serve as a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Mississippi. I visited with the District Attorney lately, and I recognize that he is smart and well liked in his district. Nevertheless, there are a number of reservations I have regarding his record. As someone with a solid interest in protecting the rights of girls and women, I am concerned concerning Scott Colom's opposition to legislation to protect female athletes. The significant backing his campaign received from George Soros additionally weighs heavily against his nomination in my view. I simply cannot backing his nomination to serve on the federal bench in Mississippi for a lifetime."

Senator Hyde-Smith won't "blue slip" Colom's judicial nomination.

"What troubled me regarding it was it didn't matter what any of the residents in Mississippi noted. It didn't matter if Republicans backed my nomination, " Colom stated. "Our junior Senator just decided she wasn't even going to let me have a hearing."

He remarked "it was easy for me to forgive her as a Christian."

"That really was straightforward for me. I accord with victims that have to forgive residents who've done much, much worse, " Colom continued. "But it did create me look at her record. So, I remarked, you know, it's interesting she would go against all these residents in Mississippi. Let me look at her record and I realized that she has been terrible for Mississippi."

From votes against the federal infrastructure bill to funding on bills that impact the state, Colom contends Hyde-Smith has a record of not properly serving Mississippians. He additionally takes problem with the incumbent not holding town halls and answering questions from voters.

"I just know that we're the type of state that has to have a Senator that focuses on us, " Colom remarked. "That was why I ran."

Colom does not have legislative experience at any level. Before Hyde-Smith was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Senator Thad Cochran (R), she had served in the Legislature and was the state's Agriculture Commissioner.

Colom, nevertheless, does not view his lack of legislative chops as an problem in this election.

"I think it's actually helpful in this particular moment and I'll tell you the first reason is as a District Attorney you're not a partisan person, " he remarked. "You don't ask whether your victims, what political party they're in. You don't care regarding whether your defendants are in the same party as you. You follow the facts. You follow the law, you do justice. Since that's the training I've gotten.", so that's the first thing that I think really is helpful to me.

Colom remarked his family's values and ties to Mississippi's political scene are a plus for his candidacy.

"My mom was a judge for a long period of time. She taught me that you obtained to put residents over politics. You obtained to do what's right for families and for the community, " he stated. "My dad was a Republican for a long time and worked with both Republicans and Democrats to try to make our state better and so those are the values I have and so I think that is important in this particular moment because we're in a moment right now where we're having record levels of corruption."

In 2015, Colom ousted a almost 30-year incumbent to win the District Attorney seat in the 16th Circuit Court District. He went on to run unopposed in his 2019 re-election bid and defeated a Republican challenger in 2023 to secure his third term. Running as a Democrat in Mississippi.

Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since John Stennis was re-elected in 1982. Colom welcomes that challenge in this 2026 midterm election.

"I'm just a commonsense Democrat with Mississippi values. I'm a 7th generation Mississippian, " he remarked. "As I remarked, I learned my values from my parents, not a political party. As a DA, I'm solid on the Second Amendment, and I have a lot, you know. I own guns. I understand the importance of protecting myself and my family, and I'll protect every Mississippi's right to do that."

Colom remarked he believes in a secure border and understands what happens when residents are in the U.S. Illegally and commit crimes.

"I've had to prosecute people for that so I understand that importance, but I also understand what working Mississippians need, " he remarked.

Colom remarked his campaign has momentum. He believes that is fueled by a willingness to campaign all throughout the state.

"I've been to counties that traditionally vote Republican and have great responses. You can look at my social media videos and see me talking to, you know, every type of Mississippian, every, you know, age group, every type, right? Since I'm a sizeable believer in the state that I love, " he noted. "Mississippi has been good to me. I believe that the state deserves great leadership. Since of that, you look at what we did in the turn out in the primary, and so. We rose turnout by 90%."

That statistic is in question, in that the 2026 Democratic Primary drew almost 151, 000 voters, with Colom receiving just under 80% of the vote. By comparison, the 2024 Democratic Primary drew roughly 92, 000 while 2023 saw just under 200, 000 voters in the primary.

Even still, Colom notes internal polling "has us within the margin of error." Yet, that too is debatable given the recent history of polling in U.S. Senate races in Mississippi. In the 2018 special election, then-Democrat standard bearer Mike Espy touted that he was within one point of Hyde-Smith just weeks before the election. But when the votes came in, Hyde-Smith won by seven points.

Colom has since welcomed a slew of national Democrats to Mississippi to stump alongside him, including former President Bill Clinton, Congressman Jim Clyburn, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Georgia U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, Delaware U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester, Maryland U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, and New Jersey U.S. Senator Cory Booker, and former Biden-era U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Since "the vast majority of Mississippians love our state more than they love a political party or hate a political party.", colom remarked his confidence comes from putting residents over politics in this campaign.

"They want somebody that's going to be honest, transparent, that's going to tell them what they think, listen to their concerns, and do what they think is best for the state, " he remarked.

Even still, Colom is not shying away from attaching himself to the more progressive side of his party. In October 2025, Colom attended a 'No Kings' protest in Jackson sporting a "Mississippi Matters" hat.

For context, the nationwide events are organized by a vast network of progressive organizations that partnered under the banner of 'No Kings' to host protests against President Trump. Plenty of protestors at the events wave signs calling the President a "fascist" and comparing Trump to Hitler. The views of protestors at the events run the gamut of leftwing talking points, ranging from chants of "Free Palestine" to wanting to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in favor of open borders to pushing LGBTQIA+ and trans acceptance.

In short, mississippi hasn’ t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982. Scott is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.