The battle for control of the U.S. Senate isn’t supposed to run through Mississippi. Scott Colom is trying to convince people that it could. “We can win here, and we’re going to,” said Colom, the Democratic nominee who’s trying to unseat Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith as she seeks her second full term. That could be typical candidate bravado, and Republicans say he has little chance. But Colom is drawing attention for a potentially competitive campaign, a reflection of a wider Senate map than either party envisioned at the midpoint of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Democrats must pick up at least four new seats to win the majority — and more than that if they lose any they currently hold. That includes Michigan, where Republicans are feeling more confident since progressive Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic nomination this week.
“We can’t spare a single seat,” Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said in an interview while she was in Mississippi on Colom’s behalf. She said Democrats have an opportunity to be competitive in more places because of voter angst over an uneven, inflationary economy. “They cannot afford their groceries,” she said. “They cannot afford the cost of gas. They cannot afford housing. It’s all over the country.”
