We now know who will be on the ballot for Mississippi’s lone U.S. Senate seat up for grabs this year. Incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith earned the Republican nomination and will face off against Democrat nominee after each won their respective primaries on Tuesday.
It took a grand total of 36 minutes after the polls closed for Hyde-Smith to be declared the winner of the GOP primary. Hyde-Smith was challenged by Ocean Springs doctor Sarah Adlakha, who spent much of her time on the campaign trail speaking out about her opponent’s contributions from lobbying groups.
Not long after Hyde-Smith was declared the Republican nominee, Colom was tabbed the Democratic challenger seeking the long-held Republican seat. Colom, a Columbus-based district attorney, defeated Albert Littell and Priscilla Till.
Hyde-Smith, a President Donald Trump-backed candidate, served as Mississippi’s agriculture commissioner for just over six years before being appointed to the Senate in April 2018 after the passing of longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran. She won the remainder of the term later that year during a special election and then a full term in 2020.
The Mississippi senator has used her eight years in office to prove herself as one of the more conservative lawmakers in Washington with staunch pro-life and pro-gun views. She’s also been an advocate for farmers through her position on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition, plus publicly working to make the Yazoo Backwater Pump Project come to fruition to prevent further flooding in the state’s Delta region.
“While we are proud of today’s results, our work is far from over as we turn our focus to the general election in November and the important work ahead for Mississippi. Scott Colom, the ‘Transgender Defender,’ bankrolled by George Soros, desperately wants to turn Mississippi Blue,” Hyde-Smith said. “We will work through Election Day to ensure that does not happen, and we will remind voters that the failed Biden/Harris policies Scott champions are wrong for Mississippi and wrong for our nation.”
As a DA, Colom points to his a 94% conviction rate as evidence that his priority is the safety of Mississippians. If elected to the Senate, he vows to focus on the everyday needs of Mississippians, from farmers facing high input costs to parents having to work extra jobs to provide for their children to people suffering high healthcare costs. Colom believes Hyde-Smith has lost touch with the average resident and that he is equipped to lead in the nation’s capital by working across the aisle to benefit his home state.
“I’m committed to Mississippi. I’m running for United States Senate because we have to have a leader in D.C. who is fighting for us — somebody who is going to fight for higher wages and lower costs, and to save our healthcare and our hospitals,” Colom told SuperTalk Mississippi News.
“If it’s good for Mississippi, then I don’t care if it’s a Democrat or a Republican idea,” he continued. “I’m worried about the farmers in the Delta who are struggling. I’m worried about the single mother who is having to work for DoorDash on the weekend instead of spending time with her children. I’m worried about the person having a kidney transplant in Hattiesburg having to decide how she’s going to be able to pay the bills.”
Hyde-Smith, Colom, and independent Ty Pinkins will face off in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The seat has been red since 1978.