single independent poll. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) has won the seat twice, most recently securing it by 10 points in 2020. Yet, days after election day, the race remains too close to call, and Hyde-Smith is currently trailing challenger Scott Colom (D) by less than 2,000 votes.

While Democrats enjoyed an unexpectedly massive wave, how did Mississippi, of all places, become one of the most contested seats? The answer reinforces the maxim that all politics are local, while also poignantly tapping into a nationwide phenomenon.

Three weeks before the election, Colom’s campaign released a viral attack ad taking advantage of an unfortunate line Hyde-Smith uttered during a February 22 interview with Biloxi-based television station WLOX. Anchor Hugh Keeton had asked the senator, “The price of food is high. We just did a story this week on the price of beef continuing to go up,” Keeton said. “What are Republicans doing to get the cost of living under control?”

Hyde-Smith responded fulsomely, but Democrats immediately jumped on a single line: “You know, you have so many proteins to choose from.”

That line became the springboard for the Colom’s 30-second ad, which spliced together the anchor’s question and that single sentence. It then cut to a white guy, who looked as if his chief hobby was tailgating at a college football game, but who only had two flimsy burger patties on his grill. “Pick another protein? S***,” he drawled. “I’d rather pick another senator instead.”

The ad then cut to an elderly black woman (ironically, not eating beef, but eating fried catfish), “Pick another protein? She done lost her d*** mind. I’d rather pick another senator.” Next, it cut to an even older white woman (apparently standing in the frozen pizza aisle?), “Pick another protein? What the f***?” Enter Scott Colom, who chuckled, “Pick another senator instead.”

The ad went viral, reaching four million views across social media platforms in the last three weeks before the election. That’s enough for every Mississippian who voted to see the ad four times, not counting the numerous times the campaign paid to run the ad in a commercial spot.

“Pick another senator” captured the mood so well that it soon came to be printed on rally signs. What was that mood? Boiling voter outrage at prices that only seem to grow more expensive, combined with a sense that Washington politicians are responsible for these price increases and are not doing enough to resolve them. As National Review’s Jim Geraghty put it, “‘You have so many proteins to choose from’ sounds uncomfortably close to ‘Let them eat cake.’”

The most difficult part of being a politician is being called upon to speak publicly, frequently, and usually on camera. Scripture advises that, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (Proverbs 10:19). Our political situation has created a context where politicians do not have the luxury of restraining their lips, even though a single mistaken line can be ripped from its context and used against them.

Geraghty did do justice to Hyde-Smith by giving the full context of her response, which Democratic operatives ignored. Before the fateful line, Hyde-Smith cited Republicans’ work to make tax cuts permanent and expand the child tax credit in the Big Beautiful Bill. She also proposed peeling back energy regulations to permit more drilling along the Gulf Coast as a way to bring down gas prices.

But the Democratic ad only focused on the one line that made it sound like Hyde-Smith dismissed voter concerns and suggested that they simply get used to being poorer. On that front, President Donald Trump certainly did his party no favors when he defended his tariffs by saying, “You know, somebody said, ‘Oh the shelves are going to be open.’ Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know. And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”

Whatever her true meaning, Hyde-Smith now finds her office hanging in the balance over an ad that brilliantly capitalized on voter anger at high prices — even the cursing in the ad, though crude, expressed the sentiment. Mississippi law allows mail-in ballots to be postmarked on Election Day and received within five business days, or until November 10, 2026. NBC News estimates that 44,000 votes remain to be counted. Additionally, the parties are disputing a reported 10,000 to 15,000 provisional ballots.

However the Mississippi race turns out — which may not be known until next Tuesday — the fact that it is even up in the air indicates the devastating effect of Colom’s ad and underscores that affordability is the giant millstone issue that sunk so many Republicans.