Harris, Trump visits could energize Mississippi Senate race

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WTVA) – A professor said high-profile supporters may motivate voters ahead of midterms.

Political analysts say former Vice President Harris’ rally in Columbus could give U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom a boost, while President Donald Trump’s expected visit next week could recharge incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith’s campaign.

High-profile visits

Dr. Brian Anderson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of political science at Mississippi University for Women, said historically big-name supporters like a former vice president and a sitting president can energize a political base and move the needle.

Anderson believes Harris’ visit to the Golden Triangle was a key moment for the Colom campaign. Harris was a popular vice president among the Democratic Party and maintained that popularity after she left office, he said.

Anderson thinks Colom has stirred his political base, and not just with African American voters. Anderson said Harris’ visit will motivate voters regardless of race.

“It definitely helps Colom. He’s wanting to bring in as many superstars as he can to support his candidacy,” Anderson said. “He’s brought in members of Congress from other states. Those don’t get as much attention, of course, as the former presidential nominee for the Democrats back in 2024. But it’s all part of the same strategy book.”

Anderson also expects Trump’s visit to Mississippi will energize the Hyde-Smith campaign.

He said the president has been busy the past few weeks targeting key swing states and states where it appears the Democratic base has momentum.

Trump’s impact

The president will be stopping in Corinth for Hyde-Smith.

Anderson said, historically, a U.S. president carries a lot of weight with voters and can energize a political base and move the needle.

Anderson said the Magnolia State is not one on the list of states that are likely to flip its Senate seat to the Democratic party. He said Hyde-Smith and others are looking for the president are looking for the president to keep them in Congress.

“It could energize support for Cindy Hyde-Smith,” Anderson said. “It depends on how much he overtly connects with what she stands for, what she has done in the Senate, and how she connects with her voters.”

Generation Z voters

Anderson believes the Zoomers, or the Generation Z population born between 1997 and 2014, will have a lot to say about the outcome of the U.S. Senate race.

Anderson would not predict who will win the Senate race in Mississippi.

The last Democrat from Mississippi to serve in the U.S. Senate was John C. Stennis, who last served in 1982.