Scott Colom Talks Primary Win and November Showdown with Hyde‑Smith

Scott Colom: Thank you so much. I’m honored. It’s really about the voters. I’ve been all across the state listening to voters and showing up for them. They are ready for a fighter—somebody who’s going to fight for high wages, lower costs, and to save our health care and hospitals.

Marcus Hunter: And kind of talk about that a little bit, because we’ve gone through the regular season of this race and now we’re in the finals. You’ve got Cindy Hyde‑Smith. She is the Republican winner. This entire campaign, you’ve kind of been focused on her. Talk about where this fight goes now.

Scott Colom: She’s barely in the state of Mississippi. She’s given a loud voice to tariffs on tariffs, which have caused costs to go up and betrayed farmers and small businesses. It’s time to go in a new direction—one focused on delivering for Mississippi. We are not a state that can afford leadership that fails us. And that’s what I’m promising the voters. When they let me on in November, we’re going in a new direction rooted in what’s best for Mississippi.

Marcus Hunter: This Democratic primary was called fairly quickly after the polls closed. You have a lot of support from Democrats here in the state of Mississippi. For those who did not vote for you and voted for your opponents, what is your message to them?

Scott Colom: My message is that we’ve got to come together and do what’s best for our state. I’m going to be all across Mississippi until November, listening to voters tell me what matters to them. I want to be a leader that listens. Cindy Hyde‑Smith hasn’t done a town hall in six years. She’s totally absent from our state. She doesn’t seem to care about what matters to us. I’m the exact opposite. I’m offering leadership rooted here at home—helping Mississippi reach its potential.

Marcus Hunter: Tonight you’re celebrating here with your family and a lot of friends in Columbus. Talk about being here in your hometown and being able to celebrate this victory as you get ready for the general election in November.

Scott Colom: I want to thank everybody in Columbus and the Golden Triangle area. That’s my base. These people have shown up for me time and time again, and I’m eternally grateful. I’m going to do everything I can to make them proud and make the city of Columbus proud. We’re going to do that by winning—because the people need it. We need better-paying jobs, lower costs, and we need to save our health care and hospitals. That’s the type of leader my parents raised me to be, and the city of Columbus raised me to be.

Marcus Hunter: Final question for you: the general election is coming up in November. What do you say to Republican voters who may be on the fence going into this election?

Scott Colom: What I offer them is somebody focused on the state of Mississippi. I’m not going to D.C. to be somebody. I’m not going there to be the Democratic senator or the Republican senator. I’m going there to be Mississippi’s senator. It doesn’t matter whose idea it is—if it’s good for Mississippi, it’s good for me. That’s the type of leadership we need in Washington.