The Scoop
The top Senate Republican super PAC is spending more than $1 million in Mississippi’s Senate race to defend GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and stave off an upset bid from Democratic candidate Scott Colom, according to details shared with Semafor.
Senate Leadership Fund is launching an ad campaign in the “low seven figures” in Mississippi, a person familiar with the plans said. The move follows Democratic group Senate Majority PAC’s decision to spend $1.2 million in the state casting Hyde-Smith as a “do-nothing” and praising Colom as an effective district attorney.
“Thanks to Leader John Thune’s fundraising prowess, SLF has the resources to protect our Republican incumbents and swamp SMP’s attempts to expand the map,” said the person familiar with the group’s plans.
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Mississippi has emerged as a surprising battleground this election cycle. President Donald Trump is set to visit the state on Monday and former Vice President Kamala Harris is campaigning with Colom this week. Former President Barack Obama also recently cut an ad for Colom, Semafor first reported.
SLF’s ad hits Colom for receiving support from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and George Soros and for “proudly” campaigning with Harris.
“Colom supports their radical agenda. He would allow transgender medical procedures for children and boys in girls’ bathrooms. Scott Colom, too liberal, too radical,” the ad says. Colom signed a letter in 2021 condemning “the ongoing efforts to criminalize transgender people and gender-affirming healthcare across the country.” He has accused Republicans of distorting his record.
While each group’s spending in Mississippi represents a small fraction of what either is putting into states like Texas, Ohio, and Michigan, the investments are nevertheless a reflection of how broad the midterm battleground has become. SLF is also spending money to defend GOP-held seats in Kansas, South Carolina, and Nebraska in addition to investing in the traditional battleground states that will determine the Senate majority.