The campaign trail for one of Mississippi’s two U.S. Senate seats is heating up early.
Not even a day after announcing his candidacy as a Democrat seeking the post, Columbus-based District Attorney Scott Colom took to social media to literally call out his primary opponent, incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
“Alright, everybody. I just announced that I’m running for United States Senate against Cindy Hyde-Smith. This is not personal. I’m going to call her and wish her goodnight. Let’s see if she answers,” Colom said before calling someone he purported to be the elected official.
Just wishing my opponent, Cindy Hyde-Smith, a good night! pic.twitter.com/coyWSi6gbd
— Scott Colom (@scott_colom) September 4, 2025
During the call, Colom took multiple shots at Hyde-Smith. From acknowledging that the senator blocked him from attaining a federal judge seat in 2023 to criticizing how she has voted on healthcare-related legislation, the district attorney pulled no punches in his attempt to make Hyde-Smith appear to be an out-of-touch politician who serves her interests rather than those of Mississippians.
“It may seem personal, but it’s actually not personal. As a Christian, I forgive you for blocking my nomination. The problem is, as a Mississippian, you keep voting against our interests,” Colom said to the caller on the other line in the video. “You vote to put our healthcare at risk, our hospitals at risk, just so millionaires and billionaires in New York and California can get a tax break. I don’t think that’s right.”
The call took an interesting turn when Colom said, “When I’m senator, you can kind of watch my example of how to put our state first,” to which he was interrupted by the recipient, who asked, “When you’re senator?” to which Colom replied, “Yeah, I’m running to replace you because we need a senator who’s going to put us first, not D.C. politics.”
In Colom’s video, the senate candidate never specified whether or not the female voice on the other end of the line happened to be the incumbent senator, though his team later clarified to SuperTalk Mississippi News that the voice “is clearly not Cindy Hyde-Smith.” While politicians and office-seekers alike have taken to social media to boost their public image through humorous videos, the legality of Colom’s most recent post has already been challenged by the Mississippi Republican Party.
In a letter addressed to the FBI’s Jackson field office, the U.S. Department of Justice’s fraud division, and the U.S. judge for Mississippi’s Northern District, state GOP officials accused Colom of breaking a law that prohibits individuals from pretending to be an employee acting under the authority of the U.S. with fraudulent or malicious intent.
Though Colom’s team has argued that the district attorney’s video was satirical and cites that the Constitution typically protects the impersonation of an elected official for parody purposes, and that the U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled on the side of it being protected speech, Mississippi GOP leaders accuse the candidate of having a nefarious agenda.
“While some may simply chalk this up to ‘dirty politics’ or expect a politician like Colom to lie, cheat, and steal his way into office, without regard to the collateral damage to whomever gets in his way, impersonating the voice of a sitting United States Senator is not politics as usual and is not something to be taken lightly,” Mississippi GOP Chairman Mike Hurst wrote in the letter.
“Rather, Colom appears to be attempting to falsely impersonate Senator Hyde-Smith and fraudulently use Senator Hyde-Smith’s voice to trick people into supporting him, donating to him, and voting for him, that is, to ‘obtain any money, paper, document, or thing of value.'”
Hurst continued his attack on the video, contending that Colom allowed a personal grievance against Hyde-Smith to taint his better judgment, resulting in the product he aired on social media Wednesday night.
“This is despicable conduct for anyone, but even more so from a long-time District Attorney who is still holding a grudge for Senator Hyde-Smith correctly refusing to confirm him for a lifetime appointment as a federal judge,” Hurst continued. “This type of action is something we as Americans will not and cannot condone.”
Hyde-Smith’s team has also acknowledged the video and referred to it as “fraudulent.” In a written statement to SuperTalk Mississippi News, spokesperson Nathan Calvert expressed optimism that voters will see through Colom’s recent political move and recognize him as a candidate who does not represent the state’s values.
“We are aware of the fraudulent video Scott Colom released alleging a phone conversation with Senator Hyde-Smith. Voters will see Scott Colom for exactly who he is: an ethically challenged, soft-on-crime transgender defender who will say and do anything to deceive voters and please his national Democrat party handlers,” Calvert stated.
Representatives from Colom’s campaign fired back at the allegations levied against the online post, accusing Hyde-Smith’s backers of resorting to “bogus” complaints. After reiterating that Colom was parodying a social media trend and that his speech was constitutionally safeguarded, the candidate’s team repeated attacks against the incumbent senator that were espoused in the controversial video.
“Cindy Hyde-Smith and her backers are so worried about her re-election that they’ve resorted to bogus complaints about social media parodies, which are core protected First Amendment speech,” the statement from Colom’s camp reads. “Hyde-Smith’s record of giving tax breaks to millionaires in California and New York, slashing Medicaid for tens of thousands of Mississippians, and putting eight Mississippi hospitals at risk of closing gives her plenty of reason to be worried, and in 2026, Mississippians will send Scott Colom to the Senate to fight for Mississippians over D.C. politics.”
History between Hyde-Smith and Colom
While Colom still has to win the Democratic primary and Hyde-Smith the Republican primary to face off in the general election, the two are heavy favorites within their respective parties. The two also have a history, as was referenced earlier.
In 2022, Colom was nominated by former President Joe Biden to serve as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi before his promotion was squashed when Hyde-Smith blocked a confirmation vote. At the time, her GOP chamber counterpart, Sen. Roger Wicker, was in favor of Colom’s nomination.
Hyde-Smith’s reservations stemmed from concerns over Colom’s political beliefs, specifically on transgenderism, and campaign donations from left-leaning billionaire George Soros.
Who else is running for the U.S. Senate seat?
With party primaries less than seven months away, a bevy of candidates has lined up for a shot at Hyde-Smith’s seat. Hyde-Smith, who already has the backing of President Donald Trump, is seeking her second full term.
In addition to Colom on the Democratic side of the aisle, Albert Littell has also announced his intention to earn the party’s ticket come November 2026. Littell is a Marine Corps veteran with extensive experience in public service and lives in Long Beach, according to his campaign website.
Challenging Hyde-Smith on the Republican side are Andrew Scott Smith and Sarah Adlakha. Smith, who missed on trying to take Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson’s seat in 2024, owns a financial services business. Adlakha is a physician and business developer.
Ty Pinkins, a former Democrat turned independent, is once again pursuing an elected seat after falling short in back-to-back races. Pinkins led unsuccessful campaigns against Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson and Wicker in the past two cycles. As a candidate seeking Hyde-Smith’s seat, Pinkins has challenged the incumbent and Colom to six debates across the state of Mississippi.
