Donald Trump is expected to campaign for Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at Corinth's Crossroads Arena on Monday night, just over a week before Mississippi voters decide whether to give her a second full term. The visit comes as national Democrats pump money into the race and as a once-sleepy reelection bid suddenly looks like one worth watching.
According to WLOX, Trump will visit Mississippi to campaign for Hyde-Smith at the Crossroads Arena on Monday night. WLBT reports the rally is set for 6 p.m. at the arena, which sits at 2800 South Harper Road, per the venue's own event listing. But the confirmation isn't entirely clean-cut: Hyde-Smith herself did not directly confirm the visit was imminent, telling Mississippi Today only that Trump was “trying to be helpful,” according to Mississippi Today. WREG, which first reported the planned stop, says Hyde-Smith's campaign confirmed that she and Trump plan to visit Corinth on Monday.
Hyde-Smith is seeking her second full Senate term and faces Democrat Scott Colom, a district attorney in north Mississippi, and independent Ty Pinkins, a lawyer, in the Nov. 3 election, Mississippi Today notes. Trump gave Hyde-Smith his “Complete and Total Endorsement” back on March 26, 2025, calling her “100% MAGA,” per the same WLOX report.
Colom Taunts Hyde-Smith Over the Visit
Colom wasted no time turning the rally into a talking point. “Hyde-Smith is scared and that's why she's sending Donald Trump down here,” Colom said, according to WLOX, and he challenged the president to a debate.
The jab lands amid a flood of outside spending. The Senate Majority PAC announced a $1.2 million ad buy to help Colom, the station's report states, and PBS NewsHour reports that ad is set to begin Wednesday and run through Election Day. Overall spending in the race has reached roughly $8 million, with Colom outspending Hyde-Smith nearly $4.6 million to $3.2 million, according to PBS NewsHour, citing AdImpact figures.
A Race Still Leaning Red, But Shifting
Mississippi has not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982, per WLOX, and Trump carried the state by about 23 points in 2024, with most national forecasters still rating the race solid or likely Republican. Even so, the Cook Political Report recently moved Mississippi's Senate race from solid Republican to likely Republican, The Hill reports. Polls conducted by Democratic pollsters still show Hyde-Smith running ahead of Colom, according to the same report, and the Cook Political Report has separately described the broader 2026 Senate cycle as offering few opportunities for Democrats to reclaim the majority.
Colom's campaign has been building infrastructure well beyond the ad wars. Per CNN, his voter registration push added more than 17,000 people to Mississippi's rolls, and Democratic turnout in the state's March primary jumped 75% over 2018 while Republican participation held steady.
Echoes of a Previous Mississippi Matchup
History offers a cautionary note for Democrats banking on momentum alone. Former congressman Mike Espy raised $12 million and drew national attention in 2018 only to lose to Hyde-Smith by 10 points, CNN notes, and the Cook Political Report recounts that Espy also came up short against her in the 2020 regular election after that 2018 special election defeat. If Colom were to win next month, PBS NewsHour reports, he would become Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction.
WREG, which first reported on the planned Corinth stop, also noted that Barack Obama recently appeared in an ad for Colom — a sign of how far outside attention on this race has traveled since the summer. For now, all sides are waiting to see whether Monday's rally in WREG's coverage area gives Hyde-Smith the boost her campaign is counting on, or whether it simply confirms how competitive Mississippi's Senate race has become heading into Nov. 3.
