Senate Democrats’ top campaign spending group is entering Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race for the first time this cycle, signaling a party pushing aggressively into deep-red territory.
The Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, will spend $1.2 million on a new television advertisement supporting Scott Colom, a district attorney challenging Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
The ad was first disclosed to The Associated Press and is set to begin running Wednesday, continuing through Election Day in what Democrats describe as a genuinely competitive contest.
“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,” group spokesperson Lauren French said in a statement.
Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and were widely expected to face a more favorable electoral map this cycle with fewer seats to defend.
High costs, rising gas prices, and an unpopular war in Iran under a Republican president have shifted Democratic optimism, prompting the Senate Majority PAC to invest in traditionally conservative states in its final weeks.
The group has already announced spending in Kansas, where megachurch pastor and Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton is seeking to unseat Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
The Mississippi race has seen only about $8 million in total spending, with Colom outspending Hyde-Smith nearly $4.6 million to $3.2 million, according to AdImpact.
Hyde-Smith is seeking re-election to her second full term, while Colom, a Lowndes County district attorney, has outraised and outspent her throughout the campaign.
Democrats have not won a Senate election in Mississippi since 1982, making any competitive showing in the state a significant strategic and symbolic development for the party.
Some Democrats have argued that national groups should be investing more heavily in Southern races rather than leaving the region underserved during what could be a pivotal election cycle.
“I worry, to be very honest, that Democrats are missing a real opportunity to invest in a serious and sustained way in the South,” Sen. Raphael Warnock said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The Senate Majority PAC’s decision to spend in Mississippi suggests party strategists believe the political environment has shifted enough to justify competing on turf that was previously considered out of reach.
