On Tuesday, with just one week until the election, Scott Colom’s headquarters was buzzing.
asserted
headquarters → buzz → election
Volunteers arrived for phone-banking, while staffers prepared for another day of campaigning.
asserted
staffers → arrive → campaigning
Colom, a Democrat who is challenging incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith for US Senate, had just held a press conference in Corinth, Mississippi.
asserted
who → challenge → Corinth
Trump campaigned for Hyde-Smith in Corinth, a small city near the Tennessee border that typically leans Republican on Tuesday, too.
asserted
that → campaign → Tuesday
He told attendees that he was there “because Cindy’s doing great, but I just got to make sure.
asserted
I → tell → attendees
I can’t take a chance.”
asserted
I → take → chance
Other prominent Republicans in the state attended and spoke at the rally, including the governor, Tate Reeves, who told attendees in the nearly full arena that “this is the most important election of our lives”.
asserted
this → attend → lives
But the fact that Republicans viewed it necessary to call in Trump has been seen by many as an admission of their vulnerability: Mississippi, one of the country’s most reliably Republican states, may be in play in next week’s midterm elections, which will determine which party controls Congress for the last two years of the president’s term.
uncertain
party → view → term
The race has attracted national attention in recent weeks as national Democrats suddenly have poured new money into a seat that had seemed out of reach.
asserted
that → attract → reach
In August, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the fundraising arm of the Senate Democrats, left Colom out of a $40m investment into battleground states.
asserted
Committee → leave → states
Since October, many national Democrats have stumped across the state in support of Colom.
asserted
Democrats → stump → Colom
“The Democrats just basically conceded the state,” Colom said, describing the previous view of national Democrats towards Mississippi.
asserted
Colom → concede → Mississippi
In doing so, he said, the party was signaling indifference to loyal Black and white Democrats in the state who continued to support the party even if the relationship did not seem reciprocal: “For too long, we weren’t willing to challenge that.
asserted
we → do → that
For me, I’m ready to challenge.
asserted
I → ’m → me
I want to show the people I have courage.
asserted
I → want → courage
And that’s what it takes in this moment.
asserted
it → ’ → moment
We cannot be afraid to call out the lies.
asserted
We → call → lies
We cannot be afraid to call out the betrayal.”
asserted
We → call → betrayal
Colom’s press conference in Corinth attracted about 100 attendees, despite the short notice.
asserted
conference → attract → notice
He also spoke to people who had lined up outside Crossroads Arena to see Trump.
asserted
who → speak → Trump
“[Trump voters] are getting betrayed,” he said.
asserted
he → betray → ?
“They voted for America first.
asserted
They → vote → America
They’re getting Mississippi last.
asserted
They → get → Mississippi
They were voting for lower grocery prices on day one.
asserted
They → vote → day
Well, the only thing that happened on day one is we got the greatest increase in sales tax in decades.
asserted
we → happen → decades
They voted for no more endless wars.
asserted
They → vote → wars
We’re back at war with no end in sight.
asserted
We → ’re → sight
They voted for the release of the Epstein files.
asserted
They → vote → files
“I wanted to make sure I go to the lines there and listen to what matters to them.
asserted
what → want → them
And tell them: ‘I’m just trying to make sure you get what you voted for.
asserted
you → tell → what
I agree with you.
asserted
I → agree → you
We need lower grocery prices.
asserted
We → need → prices
I agree with you.
asserted
I → agree → you
We need to get out of stupid wars.
asserted
We → need → wars
And I agree with you that we can’t protect pedophiles without a prosecutor.’”
Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982.
asserted
Mississippi → agree → 1982
It’s been much longer – not since 1875 – that the state elected a Black person to that office.
asserted
state → elect → office
Without the party label, Colom’s bonafides might make him a shoo-in for a win
uncertain
him → make → win
: in 2015, he unseated a nearly 30-year incumbent when he was elected the first Black district attorney for the 16th circuit.
asserted
he → unseat → circuit
As district attorney, he had a 94% success rate for convictions.
asserted
he → have → convictions
He’s a seventh-generation Mississippian, whose father was a longtime Republican who campaigned for Ronald Reagan and was friends with Thad Cochran, a longtime state politician.
asserted
who → ’ → Cochran
…and 46 more, not listed.
The Aporia
