{
  "id": 16974472,
  "title": "Attack ads flood Mississippi's shockingly-competitive Senate race",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/attack-ads-flood-mississippis-shockingly-competitive-senate-race",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-28T23:24:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Axios",
    "slug": "axios",
    "url": "https://www.axios.com/2026/10/28/mississippi-senate-scott-colom-hyde-smith"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A shocking number of attack ads are saturating Mississippi's closely contested Senate race. The most prominent ad features a Jeffrey Epstein survivor criticizing Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith for voting against releasing files related to the convicted human trafficker. This ad, run by the New Deal for All super PAC, has been seen over 1,200 times in the past week, costing the left-leaning group nearly $330,000.\n\nDespite this barrage of negative ads, Hyde-Smith's campaign has also aired its own attack, portraying her Democratic challenger, Scott Colom, as the \"transgender defender\" and branding him the \"most radical Senate candidate of our lifetime.\" That ad has played more than 2,800 times in Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee.\n\nHyde-Smith's campaign appears to have slowed its attack on Colom, spending less than $150,000 to air it between October 19 and October 26. The race is proving far closer than anyone anticipated, with Hyde-Smith still favored to win. However, President Trump acknowledged the tight contest during a rally for his ally in Corinth, Mississippi, saying, \"Cindy is doing great, but I just got to make sure.\"",
  "summary": "The most-aired ad in the closing stretch of Mississippi's Senate race features a Jeffrey Epstein survivor attacking GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith for voting against releasing files related to the convicted human trafficker. Why it matters: In the past week, Hyde-Smith has been outgunned on the airwaves. AdImpact data shows that only one of the eight most-aired spots portrays her positively. Five of…",
  "key_points": [
    "Over 1,200 views for ad criticizing Hyde-Smith over Epstein survivor issue",
    "Hyde-Smith's campaign ran ad branding Colom as transgender defender",
    "Race is closer than anticipated with Hyde-Smith still favored to win"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News (US)",
        "title": "Peltola campaign under fire after report it recruited 2nd Dan Sullivan in Senate race",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/peltola-campaign-under-fire-after-report-it-recruited-2nd-dan",
        "published": "2026-10-28T20:52:13.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "PBS NewsHour",
        "title": "WATCH: Trump calls for Peltola to drop out after report her campaign helped recruit 2nd Dan Sullivan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/watch-trump-calls-for-peltola-to-drop-out-after-report-her-campaign",
        "published": "2026-10-28T21:55:20.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Financial Times",
        "title": "Trump calls for Alaska Democratic candidate to be banned from Senate race",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/trump-calls-for-alaska-democratic-candidate-to-be-banned-from-senate",
        "published": "2026-10-28T22:28:24.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Graham, Andrews tied in South Carolina Senate race, new poll shows",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/graham-andrews-tied-in-south-carolina-senate-race-new-poll-shows",
        "published": "2026-10-28T22:46:23.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hill",
        "title": "Senate Democrats drop $500K in Mississippi",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/senate-democrats-drop-500k-in-mississippi",
        "published": "2026-10-29T01:02:27.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}