Mississippi Senate money

News · Heat 2.3 / 10 · 4 shows · 13m airtime

On October 20, Democrats put $1.2 million into the Mississippi Senate race in the final two weeks before the 2026 midterms, after a Wedgwood poll showed the race closer than expected. Senate Majority PAC is spending an initial $1.2 million on statewide TV to boost Scott Colum. Domenech says the spending may have rested on a poll created as an experiment that was not real, and the Cook Political Report has since moved the race from solid Republican to likely Republican. Whether the poll was a genuine survey or an experiment, and which reading of the race holds, remains unsettled.

How 4 podcasts covered it

1. Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar, 2026-10-21 (41:15 to 44:14)
   Debates a Mississippi wave from 1946 and 1994
   Picks up the $1.2 million Democratic investment in Mississippi and the closer-than-expected Wedgwood poll, then argues over whether a wave could flip a state Trump won by over 20 points, reaching back to 1946 and 1994.
   New angle: Democrats put $1.2 million into the Mississippi Senate race after a Wedgwood poll showed it closer than expected.
2. The Fox News Rundown, 2026-10-22 (11:30 to 14:05)
   Questions the poll behind Mississippi spending
   Domenech's two-weeks-out read on the midterms lands on the Mississippi money: Schumer's seven-figure transfer may have been triggered by a poll that was an experiment, not a real survey. Adds a claim about the poll's provenance that the card does not carry.
   New angle: Domenech says the Mississippi spending may have been based on a poll created as an experiment that was not real.
3. The Daily Show: Ears Edition, 2026-10-23 (3:12 to 5:09)
   Reports Mississippi tightening and Cook's shift
   Reports the Mississippi Senate race tightening: a super PAC spending over a million dollars for Scott Colom, the Cook Political Report's shift to likely Republican, and Trump traveling to campaign for Cindy Hyde-Smith. Plays it for jokes about Mississippi rather than adding reporting.
   New angle: The Cook Political Report moved the Mississippi Senate race from solid Republican to likely Republican.
4. Ruthless Podcast, 2026-10-23 (32:55 to 38:02)
   Frames the Mississippi buy as map-spreading
   Picks up the Politico report on Senate Majority PAC's $1.2 million Mississippi buy and reads it against the polling: one Wedgwood survey exposed as fake, the other two from Democratic firms, and Kalshi at about 89 percent for Hyde-Smith. Frames the buy as a map-spreading tactic.
   New angle: Senate Majority PAC is putting an initial $1.2 million on statewide TV in Mississippi to boost Scott Colum.