👀 Democrats Colom, Johnson pull eye-popping fundraising hauls
The latest federal campaign finance reports show every Mississippi incumbent heading toward the Nov. 3, 2026, general election with a commanding money advantage. In most of the races, no challenger has raised a comparable amount.
Yet between the lines is this notable detail: Democratic money is starting to show up in the state’s congressional races. District 1 U.S. House candidate Cliff Johnson cleared $500,000—an enormous jump from the recent baseline, and U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom has raised a record $1.6 million.
Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and the state’s four U.S. House incumbents—Trent Kelly, Bennie Thompson, Michael Guest and Mike Ezell—each cleared the March 10 primary and hold six- or seven-figure cash balances, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Across all four House districts, Colom has raised more than any Democrat in modern state history yet still trails Hyde-Smith by millions of dollars.
The Senate: the only real contest, on paper
Hyde-Smith reported about $2.5 million in cash on hand as of June 30, the close of the most recent quarter. Her Democratic challenger, Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom, reported roughly $560,000 as of March 31, the latest figure processed for his campaign.
The current funding gap is roughly more than four to one, yet understates what Colom has done. His campaign has raised about $1.6 million since launching in August 2025, a sum his team says is the most a Mississippi Democrat has ever raised for a U.S. Senate seat. He has also spent most of it, more than $1 million through the primary, leaving him with a fraction of Hyde-Smith’s reserves and about $65,000 in debts. A third candidate, independent Ty Pinkins, has no FEC report on file.
No Democrat has won a Senate election in Mississippi since 1982. And despite his fundraising, Colom still trails Hyde-Smith by nearly $2 million.
The House: one funded challenger, three long shots
Thompson, the delegation’s only Democrat and its longest-serving member, representing District 2, reported $1,449,522 in cash on hand as of June 30, the largest balance of any Mississippi House member. He will face Republican Ron Eller, who narrowly won the GOP primary in March, and independent Bennie Foster. Eller reported about $36,000 in cash on hand as of June 30 after raising roughly $45,000 for the cycle, which is less than a dollar for every 40 dollars in Thompson’s account. Foster has no report on file.
The one House member with a funded challenger is Kelly. In the 1st District, the Republican reported about $827,000 in cash on hand as of March 31. His Democratic opponent, civil rights attorney Cliff Johnson, reported about $150,000 as of June 30, a modest sum against Kelly’s. Johnson, who directs the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law, has raised more than $550,000 and spent heavily on digital advertising in a district that has voted reliably Republican for years.
Guest, in the 3rd District, reported about $942,000 in cash on hand; his Democratic opponent, regenerative farmer Michael Chiaradio, reported about $16,000 as of March 31 after raising roughly $101,000.
Ezell, in the 4th District, reported the smallest incumbent balance in the delegation, about $132,000 as of March 31. That figure is worth watching. Ezell entered the 2024 general election with less than $50,000 after a bruising primary. Neither of his opponents, Democratic state Rep. Jeffrey Hulum III and independent Carl Boyanton, has a financial report on file with the FEC.
A caveat on the numbers
Not all these figures are current to the same date. Thompson, Hyde-Smith, Johnson and Eller have all filed second-quarter reports through June 30. Kelly, Guest, Ezell, Colom and Chiaradio still show only first-quarter totals through March 31, with their July filings not yet processed. Hulum, Foster and Boyanton have filed no reports. Until the rest of the second-quarter data posts, the most valid comparison across candidates is quarter to quarter, not the mixed snapshot the totals invite.
The topline framing—that the incumbents far outpace their challengers—is accurate but incomplete. In four of the five races, no challenger is raising money at a level that would test an incumbent. The exception is the Senate race, the only one in which a Democrat has built real resources, but has done so in a state whose voters have not elected a Democrat to that chamber in more than four decades.
All cash-on-hand and receipts figures are drawn from candidate and committee reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Coverage dates vary by candidate and are noted where they differ.
Image via Cato Institute
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