Senate race in deep red Mississippi is getting Trump's attention

Josh Wingrove and Bill Faries, Bloomberg News on Oct 21, 2026

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WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate contest in the historically Republican state of Mississippi is drawing fresh attention in the final stretch of the midterm election cycle, with President Donald Trump planning a rally to boost the GOP candidate and control of the chamber hanging on the outcome of races in states the president won two years ago.

Trump will headline a rally in the city of Corinth on Monday, eight days before the election, the Republican National Committee said in a statement Wednesday. The move, in a state Trump won by more than 22 percentage points in 2024, comes with the president’s approval rating hitting record lows and Democrats needing to flip just four seats to retake the Senate.

The Cook Political Report recently shifted the race between GOP incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican.”

While that still favors the GOP, the softening of support reflects a national trend for Republicans, who are fighting to keep Senate seats in several other GOP-friendly states including Texas, Ohio, South Carolina and Alaska. A Republican-held seat in North Carolina is widely considered all but out of reach, with GOP groups shifting resources out of the state to defend other battlegrounds.

Mississippi isn’t a traditional political battleground. Three of the state’s four House lawmakers are Republican, as are the state’s two senators and Governor Tate Reeves. The lone Democrat on the national level is Representative Bennie Thompson, the state’s longest-serving Black official and the target of an ongoing effort by Mississippi Republicans to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the 2028 presidential election.

Hyde-Smith’s race hasn’t been on the national radar for most of the campaign given the state’s long history favoring Republicans for national office. And with less than two weeks until election day, she’s still favored to win.

Yet Trump’s declining popularity and concerns about affordability and increasing prices, including for food, gasoline and diesel, have national Democrats rethinking their chances in the race.

Consider beef prices. Hyde-Smith’s response to a question about high prices — in which she said people “have so many proteins to choose from” — prompted a viral ad from Colom.

“Pick another protein?” said one man grilling burgers in the advertisement, “I’d rather pick another senator instead.”

Colom, a district attorney, has benefited from support from Democrats including former President Barack Obama, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker. And, reflecting increased optimism, this week the Senate Majority PAC linked to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a $1.2 million advertisement buy in the state.

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(With assistance from Erik Wasson.)

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