Senate Majority PAC Launches $1.2M Ad Push in Mississippi Race

Senate Majority PAC, the leading outside group aligned with Senate Democrats, announced Tuesday it is spending $1.2 million on ads in Mississippi's Senate race through Election Day, backing Democratic challenger Scott Colom against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, according to NBC News.

The buy opens with a 30-second television and digital spot that frames Colom, a sitting prosecutor, as a candidate who will "fight corruption in both parties," while labeling Hyde-Smith a "do-nothing" incumbent, per the group's ad script cited by NBC News.

What did Senate Majority PAC say about the race?

Lauren French, the super PAC's spokesperson, said in a statement that the organization "has been watching this race closely, and it is clear Colom is running a competitive race that has put Hyde-Smith on her heels," according to NBC News. French added that the group will advertise across both television and digital platforms through November.

Senate Majority PAC is aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and functions as the chamber's largest Democratic-aligned outside spender. Its decision to commit resources to Mississippi signals the group believes the seat has moved from safe-Republican into contested territory, even without naming a specific poll or internal data to support that view.

Why is Mississippi suddenly on the map?

Mississippi is the most Republican-leaning state Senate Majority PAC has entered this cycle, NBC News reported. President Donald Trump carried the state by 23 points in 2024, and no Democrat has won a Mississippi Senate race since 1982. The group's move reflects a broader strategic shift: amid Trump's sinking approval ratings, Senate Majority PAC has also begun spending in Kansas, which Trump won by 16 points, along with Alaska, Texas and Iowa — all states he carried by double digits.

Democrats need a net gain of four seats to flip Senate control, a math problem that requires winning in states far outside the traditional battleground map. Mississippi's inclusion on that list, rather than a reflection of settled polling, is itself the headline: it shows how far down the list of "reachable" seats national Democrats are now willing to spend money defending or contesting.

Who is Scott Colom and what is his pitch?

Colom is a district attorney who entered the race last year. He told NBC News at the time of his launch that Hyde-Smith's vote for Trump's tax and spending legislation — which cut Medicaid funding — was what spurred him to run. Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, have both pointed to Colom as one of the party's stronger recruits this cycle, according to NBC News.

Hyde-Smith has held the seat since being appointed in 2018 and winning a subsequent special election; NBC News's report does not detail her campaign's response to the new ad spending.

How does Mississippi fit the national Senate map?

Senate Majority PAC's Mississippi buy is smaller in scale than its investments in more traditional battlegrounds, but its symbolic value is tied to the group's broader strategy of testing red-state terrain while Trump's approval numbers soften. The same calculus has pushed the group into Kansas, Alaska, Texas and Iowa — states where Republican margins in 2024 were still double digits but where Democrats see a combination of incumbent vulnerability and shifting political winds.

By the Numbers

• $1.2 million: Senate Majority PAC's ad buy in Mississippi through Election Day, per NBC News.
• 23 points: Trump's 2024 margin of victory in Mississippi, per NBC News.
• 4 seats: The net Senate gain Democrats need to win majority control, per NBC News.
• 1982: The last year a Democrat won a Senate race in Mississippi, per NBC News.

What is the timeline from here?

• Last year: Colom launches his campaign, citing Hyde-Smith's vote for Trump's tax and spending law and its Medicaid cuts, according to NBC News.
• August: Colom appears at a campaign event in Jackson, Mississippi, per NBC News's photo caption of the race.
• Oct. 20, 2026: Senate Majority PAC announces the $1.2 million ad campaign, with the initial 30-second spot beginning to air on television and digital platforms, NBC News reported.
• Through Election Day: The super PAC says its spending will continue on TV and digital through the November vote, per its statement to NBC News.

Whether the investment reflects genuine competitiveness or a broader Democratic bet on testing deep-red turf will likely become clearer as additional polling, fundraising reports and outside spending from Republican-aligned groups emerge in the race's final weeks.