Editor’s note: This story is part of a series featuring candidates for the 2026 U.S. Senate election in Mississippi. Scott Colom will participate in the general election in November as the Democratic nominee. The Daily Mississippian published profiles of independent candidate Ty Pinkins and Republican primary candidate Sarah Adlakah.
The DM has reached out to the Republican general election candidate Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, but her office has stopped communication to set up an interview. The DM will continue to attempt to set up an interview with Hyde-Smith before November.
In a state where a Democrat has not served as a U.S. senator since 1989 or won a senate election since 1982, it is easy to see why some consider Mississippi elections as merely a formality.
Scott Colom wants to change that perception.
“I think we’ve been making a lot of cracks in the glass, which represents the belief that a Democrat can’t win in Mississippi,” Colom said. “(In) 2019, Jim Hood got very close to being elected governor. In 2023, (Brandon Presley was) three points — 27,000 votes from being elected governor. Last year, the Democrats were able to break the supermajority in the state senate.”
Colom announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in September 2025. He has served as district attorney for the 16th Judicial District of Mississippi since 2016
As district attorney, Colom has attracted attention for solving cold cases and for an 85% conviction rate in cases he has tried. President Joe Biden nominated Colom for district judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi in November 2022. Hyde-Smith blocked Colom’s nomination in January 2023, citing his support of transgender athletes in women’s sports and for receiving political action money from Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros as reasons for her opposition.
In the March primary election, Colom secured 73% of the vote statewide to face incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who has served since 2018.
“She is disconnected from reality, disconnected from voters. This is exactly what happens when you won’t go talk to voters. We do that,” Colom said. “You think that ‘Oh, they can’t get beef, they’ll just get some other protein.’ … Only people that are disconnected from average working Mississippians will say something as ridiculous as that. It’s a symbol of a disease and ineffective leadership.”
Colom adds that the perceived ineffectiveness goes beyond partisan labels.
“She’s uniquely failing the state of Mississippi, and this is a unique moment where those failures are causing real pain to people,” Colom said. “When you bring up the fact that we haven’t had a Democratic senator for a long time, that’s because Thad Cochran and Trent Lott — they delivered for Mississippi. I might not agree with them ideologically on every point, but they understood that their number one duty, the number one responsibility, was to deliver money, resources, jobs in Mississippi. Cindy Hyde-Smith has totally betrayed that principle.”
Economy
Affordability and economic well-being is a major focus for Colom’s campaign.
“Mississippi has to have a leader that’s fighting for us. Fighting for higher wages, fighting for jobs for young people so they can stay in Mississippi or move back to Mississippi,” Colom said. “They don’t have to decide whether they’re gonna pay their utility bill this month or whether they’re gonna be able to provide food for their family.”
Colom expressed support for a federal minimum wage increase, which he believes will “honor the dignity of work.” The last federal minimum wage increase was in 2009, bringing the rate from $6.55 to $7.25.
“We haven’t raised the minimum wage in close to 20 years. It’s going to boost all wages,” Colom said. “We need to empower workers, and it’s just been too long since we lifted the floor. When we lift the floor, it’s going to help all workers.”
The Congressional Budget Office has found that increasing the minimum wage would raise the income of most low-wage workers, although doing so would likely slightly increase unemployment among low-wage workers.
Colom also supports using federal assistance programs to help build business in the state.
“We’ve got to bring capital to Mississippi. We’ve got to have policies from the federal side to incentivize capital coming to Mississippi so our towns can grow, so people can start businesses, so that we can have the jobs that attract and keep young people,” Colom said.
Education
Federal cuts to education funding, including scholarship and loan opportunities, are something Colom wants to combat.
“The reduction of federal support for college students is really hurting them,” Colom said. “They just said they couldn’t afford college, and it’s a sad circumstance. It goes back to not prioritizing the needs of people in Mississippi, because we need to make sure people in Mississippi that want to go to Ole Miss have the opportunity to get an education and enjoy college … life.”
Federal funding for research opportunities at Mississippi’s universities must be secured, Colom believes.
Analysis from Mississippi Today shows that Mississippi institutions of higher learning could stand to lose over $30 million in research under cuts by the Trump administration.
“The federal government has a lot of research dollars that can be brought to Mississippi that can really make a difference in growing those communities. Cuts to federal research disproportionately hurt rural places like Mississippi. It’s hard for us to make that up,” Colom said. “If our universities do well, then our towns are going to do well. Our state is going to do well.”
Colom believes federal funds should also flow into Mississippi’s public schools and into programs that build off progress made from the “Mississippi miracle,” or the rise in literacy rates among elementary students in the state.
“We’ve got to get money to our schools. That’s the short of it, and we’ve got to make sure it’s going to the programs that are building on the momentum of the miracle,” Colom said.
Healthcare
Colom wants to prioritize healthcare spending — an area where Mississippi lacks. Last week, the Magnolia Tribune reported that Mississippi ranked 48 out of 50 in nationwide health rankings.
“We have to stop the bleeding. We’re in a state of emergency when it comes to healthcare,” Colom said. “(Hyde-Smith) basically is regulating (Mississippians) out of healthcare (through insurance cuts). We have to cancel those healthcare cuts. We have to save our healthcare. We have to save our hospitals.”
Colom referred to funding cuts for the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, which help provide health insurance coverage to Americans. The U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee estimates that roughly 118,000 Mississippians would lose their health insurance because of these cuts.
“We have to expand Medicaid so more people have access to affordable healthcare, and that’s going to get us in the right direction,” Colom said. “That doesn’t solve all our problems … when it comes to transparency and pricing, when it comes to making sure people have access to effective and efficient rural hospitals.”
Colom cited his experience running for district attorney in 2015 against incumbent Forrest Allgood, who had served as district attorney for almost three decades.
“I ran for district attorney in 2015 because I felt like there was a need for common sense when it came to prosecution,” Colom said. “I was able to beat him by leading with my values, and listening to the voters and putting their needs first. I’m in my third term as district attorney, and I’m proud of my work to keep the community safe and the courtroom fair. I’m going to bring that to the United States Senate.”
While Hyde-Smith currently has more cash on hand than Colom, the district attorney outraised the incumbent in the fourth quarter of 2025, with $420,327 raised compared to Hyde-Smith’s $357,995.
The secret, Colom believes, is hard work and putting Mississippians first.
“Secret sauce, it doesn’t fall out the sky … I am a hard worker and I understand the stakes,” Colom said. “This is like when I ran in 2015. I knew this community needed a better district attorney. It needed somebody that was going to protect the innocent as much as prosecute the guilty. … (This race is) very similar. This makes a difference. It matters.”
This fundraising performance confirmed to Colom that Mississippians want progress and believe in his ability to put Mississippi first.
“I’m not surprised because I believe in the people of Mississippi,” Colom said. “I believe the majority of Mississippians love Mississippi, whether they hate the Democratic Party, love the Republican Party. That’s the key — that belief is why I’m going to win.”
