GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom to face off in Mississippi Senate race

GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith will face off against Democrat Scott Colom in November in Mississippi, with NBC News projecting that both have won their respective primaries on Tuesday.

GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith will face off against Democrat Scott Colom in November in Mississippi, with NBC News projecting that both have won their respective primaries on Tuesday.

It will be a difficult race for Colom, a district attorney. A Democrat has not won a Senate race in Mississippi since 1982 and President Donald Trump won the state by 23 points in 2024. And Ty Pinkins, who was the Democratic Senate nominee against GOP Sen. Roger Wicker in 2024, is running for Senate again, but as an independent.

But some Democrats, including Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Kirsten Gillibrand, have suggested that Colom could be a strong candidate. It also won’t be the first time Hyde-Smith and Colom have clashed: the GOP senator blocked Colom’s nomination for a federal judgeship during the Biden administration.

Scott Colom, a district attorney, is one of three Democrats running for the Senate in Mississippi. Jeff Amy / AP fileColom told NBC News ahead of his campaign launch in September that he forgave Hyde-Smith but remained “frustrated with how she votes,” pointing to Hyde-Smith’s support for Trump’s signature tax cut and spending legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Trump endorsed Hyde-Smith ahead of Tuesday’s primary, but she still faced a challenge from Republican Sarah Adlakha.