Senate · 2026

Mississippi Senate

Scott Colom (D)v.Cindy Hyde-Smith (R)SAFE R

Incumbent: Cindy Hyde-Smith, currently Republican.

Projected margin

R+12.1

Nine in ten outcomes: R+2 to R+22

Chance of winning

97%

Cindy Hyde-Smith

Polls alone

R+9.1

2 polls from 2 pollsters; latest Aug 15. Weight in projection: 25%.

Fundamentals alone

R+13.1

Weight in projection: 75%.

Polls

The average over time

Each poll is first shifted by its sponsor's and its pollster's measured lean, then weighted by recency and track record. Sample size gets no weight: in 2,000-plus past races it predicted nothing about accuracy. Why.

adjusted weighted average shading: which side the average favors each poll, as published party-aligned pollster or sponsor

Before any poll

What the fundamentals say

A regression on past Senate races, fit without looking at this year. The national environment term uses the generic ballot after its historical correction (D+5.3).

What each term adds to the estimate

BaselineD+0.5

Partisan leanR+15.9

National environmentD+3.3

IncumbencyR+1.8

Incumbent's last over/under-performanceD+1.1

Fundraising gapR+0.2

Fundamentals estimateR+13.1

Input: partisan lean

R+21.4

Presidential vote relative to the nation, 2024 (and 2020).

Input: raised from itemized individual donors, through June 30

$1.6M D · $1.8M R

FEC filings; the model uses the log of the ratio.

Handicappers, for comparison

Cook: Safe R · Sabato: Safe R · Inside Elections: Safe R

Not an input to the projection.

Table view

All 2 polls in the average

“Share” is how much of today’s average each poll supplies. It depends on recency, the pollster’s record, whether the poll screens for likely voters, and how many other polls the same firm has in the race. It does not depend on sample size.

Dates	Pollster	Sample	Colom	Hyde-Smith	As published	Adjusted	Share of average
Aug 5–15	Data for ProgressDEM.-ALIGNED for Way to Lead PAC	1,018 LV	38	44	R+6	R+9.7 moved 3.7 toward R	81%	source
Apr 8–12	Impact ResearchDEM.-ALIGNED for SPLC Action Fund	500 LV	39	42	R+3	R+6.7 moved 3.7 toward R	19%	source

LV: likely voters. RV: registered voters. A: all adults. “Adjusted” is the published margin after removing the sponsor shift and the pollster’s measured house effect; the small print says how far that moved the poll. Dem.-aligned and Rep.-aligned mark polls paid for by a party, a campaign, or an allied group, or taken by a firm whose published work is mostly for one side. They are shifted by the average lean of such polls, then counted at full weight.

History

Recent results for this office

Year	Democrat	Republican	Result
2024	Ty Pinkins	Roger F. Wicker	R+25.6
2020	Mike Espy	Cindy Hyde-Smith	R+10.0
2018	David Baria	Roger F. Wicker	R+19.0
2018 (special)	Mike Espy	Cindy Hyde-Smith	R+7.3