President Donald Trump is heading to a state where national Republicans rarely have to campaign on Monday night. Trump will rally in Corinth, Mississippi, for Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who faces an unexpectedly competitive challenge from Democrat Scott Colom, a district attorney from Columbus. Trump won the state by about 23 points in 2024 and will headline the event at the Crossroads Arena as Hyde-Smith fights to hold her seat.
Democrats have grown increasingly optimistic about Colom, whose campaign has gained traction after an ad attacking Hyde-Smith on beef prices went viral. Although winning in a state Democrats have not carried since 1982 remains a challenge, Trump's approval rating in Mississippi has fallen to its lowest level of either term, giving Democrats another reason to see an opportunity. The party sent former Vice President Kamala Harris to Mississippi last Thursday to raise Colom's profile.
If elected, he would become the state's first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction ended. Newsweek reached out to the Hyde-Smith and Colom campaigns for comment Monday. The rally is at the Crossroads Arena, 2800 South Harper Road in Corinth.
Doors open at 2:30 p.m. local time, the program begins at 4:30 p.m. and Trump is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. Eastern, according to the Republican Party's event page. Attendees have to register in advance, with a limit of four tickets per sign-up.
A 365 Project poll taken October 21-22 by the Democratic firm Change Research had Hyde-Smith at 43 percent and Colom at 40 percent, with the margin of error at plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Independent Ty Pinkins, a lawyer, drew 6 percent, enough to matter in a race this tight. All of the public polling has come from Democratic-aligned firms, and averages still favor the incumbent.
The Pollsmax average gave Hyde-Smith a lead of about 7 points and its model put her chances of winning at roughly 93 percent. Prediction market Kalshi had her near 89 percent on Monday. The Cook Political Report moved the race from Solid Republican to Likely Republican last week.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
