Midterm elections in November will determine control of both chambers of Congress and how much power President Donald Trump will have to enact his agenda for the final two years of his term.
Republicans control the House and the Senate, but they face an electorate that, according to many polls, has soured on Trump and his party by extension.
In Mississippi, a U.S. Senate race tops the ticket, which includes contested general elections for all four of the state’s U.S. House districts. Recent elections indicate that Mississippi continues to be a deep red state, and most pundits and prognosticators have the state’s midterm federal elections firmly in the “noncompetitive” category.
Most incumbents are poised to sail to reelection in November, but challengers are putting in the shoe leather, traversing the state and bombarding social media. Scott Colom, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, has raised significant amounts of campaign cash and appears to be mounting a strong challenge to incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde Smith. Ty Pinkins, an independent, is also running.
Ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms, Mississippi Today asked voters what issues were top of mind as they prepared Election Day nears. Here is what they said.
The cost of living
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, saw his approval rating slump as he struggled to tamp down inflation. A promise to lower prices was a central plank of President Trump’s 2024 campaign, and he rode a wave of voter discontent with the economy among other issues back into the White House.
But as the midterms approach, the cost of living might lead to a blue wave, with voters lamenting the rising price of groceries, gas and other consumer goods. Many voters blame Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran for exacerbating an “affordability crisis.”
Shirley Miller, 68, a retired Mississippi Department of Mental Health employee from Jackson, said she has to buy less at the grocery store and limit her driving to cope with rising prices at the gas pump.
“I can’t believe a head of lettuce is $5,” Miller said. “It’s impacted me because things I used to buy, I don’t buy anymore, or I use a cheaper version.”
Miller’s car requires premium gas. Before the Trump-led war in Iran, Miller said she remembers paying $3.29 a gallon. The last time she filled up, about a week before she spoke with Mississippi Today, it cost $4.49.
“I have places I go. I go and come back, and I don’t do a lot of travel between that time frame,” Miller said. “I just get in and do what I got to do and come back.”
Miller said she plans to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot in November.
But other voters believe rising prices are temporary and pale in importance to winning the war with Iran.
Mary Sellers, 87, a retired hospital switchboard operator who lives between Hattiesburg and Petal, said she believes Trump is on a divine mission to defeat the Iranian regime.
“I’m not worried about the price of gas or the price of eggs at the store, because God has other things in mind for us to pray to him about,” Sellers said, “and that’s our faithfulness to Israel and our faithfulness to his word, the Bible.”
Sellers said she is voting for Republicans this November because they better represent her values.
For Camille Wright, 66, a retired appraiser who lives just outside the Jackson Metro area, electing a Democratic Congress that would repeal Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” or what she calls the “One Big Ugly Bill,” is a top priority.
Wright believes the legislation will trigger the closure of multiple rural hospitals and nursing homes. She also fears changes to Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP funding could harm the state’s most vulnerable residents while also leading to higher health care costs for everyone.
Wright believes these issues are particularly salient in Mississippi, long one of the poorest states with some of the worst health outcomes in the country. But she blames Democrats for failing to translate these realities into political victories, a concern that persists heading into this year’s election.
“I blame part of this on the state Democratic Party because again and again they fail to stand up to the challenge,” Wright said. “I don’t know why that is, but they’re partly to blame because they have so much ammunition to go after the Republicans with.”
Political corruption and self-dealing
Several voters believe Trump’s conduct during his second term should bring about more scrutiny of the way elected officials use their positions to enrich themselves.
Bo Alawine, 62, a Democrat who works for a defense contractor in Gulfport, said Republicans in Mississippi haven’t pointed out Trump’s multi-billion-dollar self-enrichment, even as they point out fraud in Democratic-led states.
Bo Alawine, 62, a Democrat who works for a defense contractor in Gulfport, said Republicans in Mississippi haven’t pointed out Trump’s multi-billion-dollar self-enrichment Credit: Bo Alawine
“The personal enrichment of Donald Trump has increased his bottom line, his personal wealth, at the expense of others during his time in office, which is unheard of in modern times, at least,” Alawine said. “The fact that I don’t see any Republican member of our congressional delegation uttering a single peep of concern about it, I have a problem with that.”
Alawine said he hopes Democrats reclaim a majority in the U.S. House “to exercise oversight and investigations of the administration and hold members of the administration accountable.”
Bryan Champlin, 48, an audiovisual systems specialist from Brandon, said corruption exists in both parties, though he believes it currently leans more endemic on the right.
“Politicians appear focused on themselves, donors and wealthier interests,” he said, adding that
Religion and its influence on politics
For Sellers, Democrats have done little to stop what she said was a growing threat posed by the influence of Islam in the United States and in Mississippi.
“Islam is an enemy, and they are trying to come in and take over,” Sellers said. “I have great-grandchildren that I’ve invested my life in, and I don’t want them to have any influence of this ungodly … it’s not a religion. A religion doesn’t require people to live like they live. Islam is a cult, not a religion, and so we don’t have to give them freedom of religion.”
Bryan Champlin, 48, an audiovisual systems specialist from Brandon, said corruption exists in both parties, though he believes it currently leans more endemic on the right. Credit: Byran Champlin
By contrast, Wright took aim at Mississippi politicians who she said invoke Christianity while pursuing an agenda that she said is at odds with Christian values.
“Mississippians want to say that they’re so Christian. No, they’re really not when it comes to their politics. They are hypocrites,” Wright said. “Mississippians are religious, but they are not Christian in their actions, because if they were, they would never support such a corrupt administration.”
The U.S. Senate Race
Miller was sharply critical of Hyde-Smith, saying she hasn’t seen visible contributions to the state from the senator and plans to vote for Colom, who is “looking at the hoots and the hollers of Mississippi, the back roads, the interstates, the state highways, and not looking at what our current president thinks is important.”
Sellers said she didn’t know who Hyde-Smith was running against, but felt ads she’s seen attacking Hyde-Smith’s past remarks about rising meat prices have been misleading. Even still, she said Trump’s endorsement alone won’t sway her vote.
“I haven’t seen anything other than that she’s endorsed by President Trump. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to vote for somebody because President Trump endorses them.”
Hyde-Smith is still a likely favorite in ruby red Mississippi. Colom has outraised Hyde-Smith for two fundraising quarters this election season, but a recent report showed Hyde-Smith with $2.54 million cash on hand, and Colom with $847,000.
Mississippi’s federal midterm Election Day is Nov. 3. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
