Yes, there’s no doubt Republicans and not just in Texas are steeling themselves for an epic fight to hang on to a Senate seat they currently control. Democrat James Talrico is poised to do the unthinkable and win a statewide race there. No doubt a historic amount of money will be spent there and the GOP, except for Trump is supremely pi$$ed off because Democrats have an actual shot of retaking control of the chamber. They need that money elsewhere. You can think of several states where they’d like to use that Texas money but believe it or not one place they might need it is…Mississippi!
I kid not. According to various outlets including Raw Story the Democratic challenger is causing the Mississippi GOP to go into panic mode. The primary was held on May 10 giving time for fresh polling, and it indicates Scott Colum is surging:
“The Mississippi GOP is panicking,” according to a hopeful candidate.
The chair of the Mississippi Republican Party is sounding the alarm about a statewide race that recent polling shows has tightened into a statistical tie, warning fellow Republicans against complacency as Democrat Scott Colom continues to gain ground against former Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Before you get too excited keep a couple of things in mind. First, it’s early in the general election race. Second, let’s be blunt about the fact that this IS after all Mississippi and Colum is a black man. While Hyde-Smith’s polling was already underwater it’s hard to imagine a bunch of white goobers in that state voting for a black man. On the other hand it’s safe to say an already (thanks to Roberts success in trampling on voting rights for blacks, especially in the south) motivated African-American voters WILL likely turn out and endure all manner of obstacles and indignities to cast their votes.
Here’s the thing. Whites make up 55% of Mississippians. Blacks are at a little over 37%, and mixed race (which in many place including there means black) come in at 3.6%. That means whites have a fifteen point advantage. That’s a lot to be sure but a lot of whites are upset with Trump, and they have steadily soured on Hyde-Smith. Since it seems there will be a third candidate (who might take votes from both sides) while unlikely it’s not just a pipe dream that Colum could pull off the upset. No wonder Republicans are panicking, and admitting it:
“We can’t sit back,” the Mississippi GOP chair said, according to a campaign email from the Colom campaign. “We can’t have this comfortable mentality that Mississippi is just a red state and we win every time.”
Colom, a seventh-generation Mississippian and current district attorney, has built a grassroots campaign that his team says has rattled state Republicans enough to prompt the unusually candid admission from their own party chair.
I stated the obvious – Colum isn’t just a Democrat in a very red state but he’s a black guy. However Hyde-Smith has done little to impress voters in the state. In fact as I noted she’s underwater in favorability ratings. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center while she’s got the best name recognition 55% of voters have a ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ unfavorable view of her and 53% say they’d prefer to vote for someone else in the next election. The SLPC goes on to say that roughly one-third of Mississippi voters rank inflation and cost of living as their biggest concern. Coming in second at 27% is government corruption and even some MAGAs are looking at things like Trump’s slush fund and starting to think maybe HE is the problem. Meanwhile Hyde-Smith is facing additional headwinds:
“Mississippi voters are fed up with the high cost of living and political scandals and corruption from elected officials,” said Kevin Akins, partner, Impact Research. “This should serve as a warning sign for Cindy Hyde-Smith — a senator who is a villain in her home state with a record of raising prices on working families. A perfect storm is brewing in Mississippi, and this has all the makings of a competitive race.”
This is the last thing the GOP needs right now. Over in Texas James Talarico is leaning into Ken Paxton’s punches. A good example is Talarico pushing out T-Shirts with Paxton’s “Talifreako” insult on them! Talk about leaning into a punch and delivering a counter-blow. The attacks about Paxton being trans, and the ones that were surely coming (because he’s not married) being gay have just been defanged too. Talarico has been in a relationship for a couple of years with a lady who I think will turn out to be a force of nature. A former Democratic staffer (first for Talarico which is how they met, then she moved to another politician’s office) and lobbyist yes, she is Vegan. She’s also Hispanic and don’t think that’s not going to sway some voters this fall.
If the GOP is in a funk tonight I can understand why. Trump screwed with the Texas Senate race and got Paxton the nomination. Cornyn would have still had a helluva fight on his hands but surely had a better chance of eking out a win than Paxton. There’s genuine fury at the money that will have to be spent to avoid the embarrassment of losing a Texas Senate race. You can think of several states that will need money that won’t be available but if you’re like me never in your wildest dreams did you think MISSISSIPPI would be one of them.
However that’s now the case. The GOP was already going to be playing an awful lot of defense to retain its Senate majority, and now another solidly red state is on the table. When freaking Mississippi is suddenly up for grabs we need to keep the pressure on. Even if the war gets settled soon and the Strait of Hormuz gets back to normal too much damage has been done to our economy. All the focus has been on oil but the fertilizer shipments that got blocked means crop yields won’t be what they should have been this fall. That means grocery prices WON’T be coming down and that will sink in right when early voting starts.
Anyway, keep an eye on this race. If GOPers have to spend real money in Mississippi (and it looks like they might have to) we have to stay motivated and dedicated. We have to adopt a Patton like battle strategy of never letting up. Always stay on the attack. ‘Falling back to regroup’ gives the enemy the chance to do the same so once they are on their heels keep hitting them whenever and wherever possible. Including now in Mississippi.
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