Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom speaks to the press in Jackson, Miss., on Nov. 6, 2026. MFP Photo by Nick Judin
Scott Colom, the Mississippi Democrat who is leading in the count of the state’s U.S. Senate race, says that polling analysts like the Cook Political Report make it harder for candidates like him in Southern states to compete and fundraise. Cook Political had the Mississippi race labeled as “Solid Republican” in its analysis ahead of the election, suggesting the state was an impossible flip.
“At some point, we have to talk about @CookPolitical and other ‘prognosticators’ who had me and other southern candidates labeled as solid R for much of the campaign cycle,” Colom wrote on Monday mornign. “They made it much more difficult to fundraise and are part of the reason the South has been neglected for so long.”
He also pointed to Jaime Davis, the Louisiana Democrat who came within two points of winning the U.S. Senate race there on Nov. 3. “This attitude hurt Jaime Davis & others so much,” he wrote.
At some point, we have to talk about @CookPolitical and other “prognosticators” who had me and other southern candidates labeled as solid R for much of the campaign cycle. They made it much more difficult to fundraise and are part of the reason the South has been neglected for so…
Award-winning News Editor Ashton Pittman, a native of the South Mississippi Pine Belt, studied journalism and political science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously the state reporter at the Jackson Free Press, he drove national headlines and conversations with award-winning reporting about segregation academies. He has won numerous awards, including Outstanding New Journalist in the South, for his work covering immigration raids, abortion battles and even former Gov. Phil Bryant’s unusual work with “The Bad Boys of Brexit" at the Jackson Free Press. In 2021, as a Mississippi Free Press reporter, he was named the Diamond Journalist of the Year for seven southern U.S. states in the Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Awards. A trained photojournalist, Ashton lives in South Mississippi with his husband, William, and their two pit bulls, Dorothy and Dru.
