Senate Majority PAC Launches $1.2 Million Mississippi Ad Buy

Senate Majority PAC, the top outside spending group aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is putting $1.2 million behind Democratic prosecutor Scott Colom in the Mississippi Senate race through Nov. 3, according to NBC News' From the Politics Desk. The move, confirmed two weeks before Election Day, marks the reddest state the group has entered so far this cycle.

Why is Mississippi suddenly a Senate battleground?

Democrats need a net gain of four seats to flip Senate control, which requires winning in multiple states President Donald Trump carried by wide margins in 2024, NBC News reported. Trump won Mississippi by 23 points two years ago, and a Democrat has not won a Senate race in the state since 1982, according to the outlet. Senate Majority PAC's decision to spend there signals the group sees an opening despite that history, tied in part to what NBC News described as Trump's sinking approval ratings heading into the midterms.

How much is Senate Majority PAC spending and where?

The $1.2 million campaign runs on television and digital platforms through Election Day, NBC News reported, citing the group's announcement. Mississippi is not an isolated bet. Senate Majority PAC has also spent in Kansas, which Trump carried by 16 points, along with Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas — all states Trump won by double digits in 2024, according to the Politics Desk newsletter. The parallel spending across six red or red-leaning states illustrates a broader strategic shift by national Democrats toward offense rather than simply defending incumbents.

What does the ad say about Hyde-Smith and Colom?

The opening 30-second spot in the Mississippi buy casts Colom as a candidate who will "fight corruption in both parties," while labeling Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith a "do-nothing" incumbent, per NBC News' description of the ad's content. Lauren French, spokesperson for Senate Majority PAC, framed the investment as a response to on-the-ground competitiveness rather than a symbolic gesture. "Senate Majority PAC has been watching this race closely, and it is clear Colom is running a competitive race that has put Hyde-Smith on her heels," French said in a statement reported by NBC News.

The Politics Desk newsletter did not include a response from Hyde-Smith's campaign or additional polling data to independently verify the "on her heels" characterization, and no public survey numbers for the race were cited in the available reporting.

How is Senate Leadership Fund responding?

Senate Leadership Fund, the Republican-aligned counterpart to Senate Majority PAC, is also airing ads in Kansas, Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas, according to NBC News — but notably not in Mississippi. That gap suggests Republican strategists have not yet treated the Mississippi seat as seriously contested, even as Democrats pour resources into it. Senate Leadership Fund has instead directed money toward shoring up incumbents elsewhere, spending in South Carolina to support Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's bid for a full term and in Nebraska, where GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts faces a challenge, NBC News reported.

What other red states are Democrats targeting?

Mississippi joins Kansas, Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas on Senate Majority PAC's target list, according to the Politics Desk report — a map that would have seemed aggressive for a Democratic group in a typical cycle. The group's spending pattern tracks with the party's stated need to pick up seats in states Trump dominated in 2024 rather than relying solely on competitive swing states. Whether that strategy pays off will become clearer as Nov. 3 approaches and both parties' outside groups continue adjusting ad spending in the campaign's final stretch.

No additional fundraising totals, internal polling, or state party statements beyond those cited by NBC News' Bridget Bowman were available in the source reporting for this race.

What else does the newsletter track this cycle?

The same edition of From the Politics Desk, compiled by the NBC News politics team and published Oct. 20, 2026, also previews secretary of state contests on the midterm ballot, according to reporting credited to Jane C. Timm in the newsletter. NBC News did not detail specific candidates or spending figures for those races in the portion of the newsletter focused on Mississippi, and the available source material does not specify which states' secretary of state races are included. The pairing of the Senate story with that overview reflects the newsletter's broader framing of the 2026 midterms as a multi-front battle extending beyond federal contests, Bowman's reporting indicates.