Democrat Scott Colom continues to keep pace with incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith in fundraising, according to campaign finance reports from the first quarter of 2026.
Colom, the 16th Circuit district attorney from Columbus, raised just shy of $600,000 since Jan. 1, with 75% of those contributions coming from individuals. About $150,000 came from political action committees.
Overall, Colom has raised roughly $1.6 million since announcing his candidacy in September. He has spent close to $1.1 million and has $559,626 on hand.
Hyde-Smith pulled in more than $635,000 since Jan. 1, with about $183,000 of that coming from transfers from her victory fund – a joint fundraising committee that distributes money to multiple recipients.
Another $183,500 of Hyde-Smith’s fundraising came from PACs.
Her campaign has spent $2.85 million so far this cycle and had $2.46 million on hand.
The two will square off in the Nov. 3 general election.
District 1
In the race for 1st Congressional District representative, Republican incumbent Trent Kelly raised $293,572 last quarter, nearly half of which came from PACs.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) pitched in roughly $9,700 to Kelly’s campaign since Jan. 1.
Kelly has spent more than $703,000 this election cycle and has almost $827,000 on hand.
His Democratic challenger, Cliff Johnson, brought in more than $108,000 last quarter, with only $2,500 coming from PACs. He has spent $306,418 on his campaign so far and has $65,418 on hand.
District 3
In the 3rd Congressional District, Republican incumbent Michael Guest raked in $164,527 last quarter, with 71% coming from PACs.
AIPAC chipped in more than $5,000 of that total.
Guest has spent $367,755 to date on his campaign and has a balance of about $942,000.
Democratic challenger Michael Chiaradio raised only about $45,000 last quarter, all but $800 from individuals. He has spent $almost $85,000 so far this cycle and has a little more than $16,000 on hand.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
