The Race That Could Flip Mississippi

Grab your sweet tea and pull up a chair! Heidi and Joel sit down with Scott Colom, candidate for U.S. Senate from Mississippi, to talk about what it actually takes to turn one of the reddest states in the nation. If you care about expanding the map, building real coalitions, and what Democrats can win when they show up, this episode's for you.

In this episode:

• How engaging directly with voters increased turnout by 90% in Mississippi's primaries
• Scott Colom’s stance on tariffs, healthcare, and rural economic revival
• The importance of authenticity and listening in modern politics
• How Colom plans to combat voter suppression and fight for fair elections
• The story about a soldier missing his daughter's softball game—and why it hits home
• Insights into Mississippi's unique primary system and demographic challenges
• The power of community voices—like barbers and farmers—in shaping policy

Most people have already written Mississippi off before the ballots are even printed. But Scott Colom isn't most people. In this conversation, the senate candidate makes the case that the most unexpected races can become the most important ones — and that the path to a Democratic Senate majority might just run through the heart of the Deep South.

Whether you're a political junkie, a grassroots organizer, or just someone who believes no voter should be left behind, this episode will challenge the way you think about the electoral map. Don't count Mississippi out. Hit play and hear why.

Connect with Scott Colom

• Scott Colom for Senate
• Scott Colom on Instagram
• Scott Colom on Facebook 

And remember: the dish is hottest when the race is closest. Don't miss the next Hot Dish — more flavor, less fuss!

The Hot Dish is brought to you by the One Country Project. To learn more, visit OneCountryProject.org, or find us on Substack (Onecountryproject.substack.com), and on YouTube, Bluesky, and Facebook (@onecountryproject).

• (00:00) - Introduction to The Hot Dish and Mississippi Politics
• (03:02) - Scott Colom's Campaign and Vision for Change
• (06:05) - Challenges Facing Mississippi Farmers
• (09:07) - Building Trust with Voters
• (11:50) - Understanding Mississippi's Primary System
• (14:55) - Impact of Tariffs and Economic Policies
• (18:08) - Personal Stories and the Cost of War
• (21:02) - Centering Voters in Political Conversations
• (24:02) - Scott Colom's Unique Position in the Race
• (26:45) - Conclusion and Future Aspirations
• (29:13) - Enthusiasm in Politics
• (32:09) - Analyzing Senate Races
• (35:14) - Grassroots Support and Community Engagement

Creators and Guests

Host

Heidi Heitkamp

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp served as the first female senator elected from North Dakota from 2013 – 2019. he is the founder and Chair of the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs and concerns of rural America. Heidi was recently named the Director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago, a university she has long been committed to and a place where she enjoys engaging with students over civic discussions while encouraging them to seek opportunities in public service to our country. Heidi also serves as a contributor to both CNBC and ABC News.

Host

Joel Heitkamp

He is an multi-award winning talk show host both regionally and nationally. Before radio, he served in the North Dakota Senate from 1995-2008.

Editor

Ismael Balderas-Wong

Head of Production at Voxtopica

Producer

Richard Fawal

Richard Fawal is founder and CEO of Voxtopica.

SC

Producer

Susanna Cassisa

What is The Hot Dish?

Former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp and her brother, KFGO radio talk show host Joel Heitkamp, engage in animated discussions with newsmakers, elected leaders, and policymakers who are creating new opportunities for rural Americans and finding practical solutions to their challenges. Punctuated with entertaining conversations and a healthy dose of sibling rivalry, The Hot Dish, from the One Country Project, is informative, enlightening, and downright fun.

Heidi (00:04)
Welcome back to The Hot Dish, comfort food for rural America. I'm Heidi Heitkamp.

Joel (00:08)
And I'm Joel Heitkamp.

Heidi (00:11)
You know, today I am so excited because one of the reasons why I wanted to make sure we were doing the hot dish, especially in election year, is to educate people on incredible candidates that we know are out there, where nobody's even paid attention, that flyover area. And this is a candidate that we are so excited about because Mississippi is a place that everybody should keep their eyes on. I was just down there.

I did some discussions at the Delta and you could feel it. You could feel that things are changing in Mississippi and people are ready for a change. Scott, you have an amazing resume. Kind of mirrors a little bit of mine. Although, you know, ⁓ in law and order and law enforcement, in plus 15 districts as you were running for reelection as the DA. So you know how to run campaigns and you know why you're running. And so give the folks out there

Scott Colom (00:50)
Yeah.

Heidi (01:05)
a pitch about why they should be following your race and maybe send you a few dollars. Send you a few dollars, Scott.

Scott Colom (01:11)
I appreciate that.

Thank you so much Senator for having me. Thanks Joel. I appreciate being on the hot dish and you know the kids I I know how to win tough races because when I ran in 2015 for district attorney I ran against a 30 year incumbent and people thought I had no chance to win based on the demographics of the district. But I believe in Mississippi because I born and raised here just you know.

grew up in the community, the YMCA, just my parents are active. I just knew that we had more in common than people thought. And if I could work hard, get out my message, raise enough money where I could, you know, tell people about myself and why I wanted to be DA, that I would have a much better chance than people realize. And I won that election and I was running on criminal justice reform.

Which was unique at the time. 2015 for district attorney to say, listen, we gotta be tough on violent crime because violence destroys families and destroys communities. But we need to be smart or nonviolent crime. We gotta make sure young people that make a first time nonviolent mistake. They get a second chance, get the help they need to turn their life around and we're able to win that election. And I'm proud to be serving as DA for 10 years. And it's the same recipe. Right now you gotta have it in combat.

that is more than that. She's asleep at the wheel. But in reality, she is in Las Vegas using campaign finance funds to play at the roulette wheel, staying at five-star hotels, eating five-star restaurants. That's what the FEC report shows. So while we at a state are headed in the wrong direction because of these tariffs, because of the health care cuts, because of damage to our economy,

She's in Las Vegas worried about herself. And when you have that type of incumbent, if you can make the race about economic issues that unite Mississippians, I feel very confident we're gonna win. And if you look at the primary results, Senator, we're in the right direction. People did not think we could do it. We increased turnout by 90%. We closed the gap by 20 points. Independent polling shows we are within three points. Mississippians competitive this year.

Joel (03:32)
Well, Scott, you know, I think Heidi's spot on right. Once people get to know you, they're going to want to maybe send you a buck or two on a national scale. So before I ask you a question here, ⁓ tell people how to get in touch with you while they're while we're sitting here having this conversation, where do they go to fill out that form?

Scott Colom (03:49)
Go to scotcolomb.com, ⁓ S-C-O-T-T-C-O-L-O-M dot com. Senator, I'm finally getting people to learn how to pronounce my name. James Carville has been a big believer in Mississippi, a big believer in my campaign, but he was calling me Colum for like six months. People are finally getting it. It's Colombs, scotcolomb.com. We are building something special in Mississippi, and it's the voters. Like you said, Senator,

going to a Delta, you know, I travel all over the state. They are ready for a new direction. They're ready for a leader that's going to bring us together and focus on results that make people's lives better. Not rhetoric, not partisan talking points, but you know, the kitchen table issues, higher wages, lower costs, save our healthcare, save our hospitals.

Joel (04:38)
Yeah, Scott, you know, the hot dish was begun by, you know, the one country project and the focus was to be on rural, you know, Mississippi is a rural state. You know, I live in the Upper Plains and, know, we farm here. ⁓ The farm economy is a huge part of it. You know, when you look at Mississippi, we may be a long ways apart, but we mirror each other in so many ways. You know, when you go out and you talk to those farmers, those ag producers, what are you hearing?

Scott Colom (05:06)
Yeah, so I was in the Delta. I was in Laflora County talking to I think he said he's a fourth generation farmer. He passed it on to his kids. They do the farming now, but he still lived on the farm and he was telling me they are in a state of emergency. They already were bad off because of the tariffs. The tariffs had took away is, know. A reliable customer that's now not coming back, not coming back and while we lost that customer.

they went and started buying soybeans for Argentina and we bailed out Argentina. Which makes no sense. And so now you add the increase in fertilizer costs because of the war in Iran and they're in desperate straits. ⁓ know, the person that really brought it home for me was ⁓ not the farmer, but it was somebody who worked at a bank in the Delta. And what she told me is, I don't think Mississippi is...

Heidi (05:41)
Hahaha!

Scott Colom (06:05)
recognize the dire straits of so many of these farmers. They are so close to bankruptcy, so many of them, and the banks are looking at the balance sheet and saying, we can't continue to lend you money in this environment. And agriculture is such a big part of our economy, such a big part of our culture. And my message to them is, this is a product of ⁓ Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Betraying the voters and the people of Mississippi because she knows tariffs are bad for Mississippi. They're bad. They have been terrible. Not only have they hurt our farmers, they've hurt small businesses. They've hurt consumers at the grocery store. you know what the farmer and the doctor told me, I thought was a great way to put it. He said, listen, we got chaos for farming. We got chaos in small businesses. We got higher grocery prices. What did we get? What is the upside?

Heidi (07:01)
Yeah.

Scott Colom (07:03)
You know, we don't have high manufacturing. don't, economy is not doing well. What is the upside? What do we get for the pain? We didn't get anything. And so, go ahead.

Heidi (07:14)
Well, and I think,

you know, so many times Joel and I heard it where we live, like, give them some time, give them some time. Well, how much time you willing to give them, given that there doesn't seem to be a trend line here that's positive for the average American person, whether it's healthcare costs or grocery costs. So you obviously represent or you're going to represent the state of Mississippi. think, I don't think people really understand the demographics of Mississippi.

Scott Colom (07:25)
Yeah.

Heidi (07:44)
kind of long-term and I just wanna not get into a lot of racial discussion, but I think when you look at the Democratic Party and turnout for African-Americans in Mississippi, they really feel like they haven't gotten anything from the Democratic Party. And so they look at Democratic candidates say, well, what difference does it make? It's gonna be the same thing. How do you overcome that image of Democrats just taking advantage of demographics as opposed to actually delivering

opportunity for people.

Scott Colom (08:16)
You know, that is the biggest challenge because, you know, I campaign all over the state. mean, I, you know, the beginning of my campaign, it got very little attention. And so what I did is I boots on the ground, start going to community, listening to voters, showing up at the festivals, showing up at the town halls.

And you know, I always ask voters what matters to them, right? And people, first of all, they're very surprised that he asked that question. They're like, what do you mean? Like, no, what matters to you as a voter? I'm like, nobody's ever asked me that. Let me think about that for a second. And the number one answer I get, number one answer is somebody who does what they say they're going to do. People do not trust politicians. And at first, I was like, man, how do I solve that? Because that's such a problem.

and how do you gain trust? And so I started asking people, well, how do I gain your trust? Well, they said, well, the first thing you're doing it right, you're asking, you're showing up, you're listening, you're not just doing all the talking. And they were like, do more of that. And I said, yes, ma'am, yes, sir. And I just started even foot on the gas, no breaks, to, know, Saturdays, I'm at three events a day. Sunday, I'm at two or three churches. And they were

They're rewarding me because you look at the primary results. We did not spend nearly as much money as the incumbent senator did to get her voters out. We spent a lot less because we didn't have as much. We increased turnout by 90%. And what the people of Mississippi are showing me is you've got to do paid media because I have to make sure the voters understand the truth about me because all she's going to do, she doesn't campaign. She had down a town hall in six years. She doesn't want to listen to voters.

What she's going to do is 30 second ads at end of the campaign that try to divide and distract. So I do have to have enough money to respond with the truth about me and the truth about her. But I also have to get the people that you can't get with a TV ad. You got to show up and you got to listen to them. You got to make sure they understand you care about.

Heidi (10:26)
Can I just have you just for a minute explain the Mississippi primary system? Because I think a lot of people listening don't understand when you say, you you increase turnout, what that looked like ⁓ and how you guys do your primaries.

Scott Colom (10:39)
So we have an open primary system where you don't have to register with the party. So voters go to the polls and they have to choose whether they want to vote for a Republican, or the Republican primary, or the Democrat primary. In my race, I did not have what I consider competitive ⁓ primary opponents. I had people that ran, and I was a first time statewide candidate. So the key for me is how do I get excitement and enthusiasm to get people to vote for a Democrat, right?

to get, know, because some of it is just about excitement. And then the other thing is how do you persuade people that are on the fence to go vote for in the Democratic primary versus the Republican primary. And if you look at the previous competitive primaries, we have been really around 80,000 voters vote in the Democratic primary, the Republican primary, they were really out voting us. And so I just worked my butt off, showed up everywhere I could.

gained a lot of people's trust and excitement and we were able to increase the turnout. we went up to like, I think it's, don't quote me exactly on the numbers, but close to 160,000 voters. It's only about a 7,000 vote difference between people who voted in the Republican primary and the Democrat primary.

And 58 % of voters voted against the Republican incumbent, which is consistent with what we saw in the poll. 55 % of the voters in the independent poll have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican incumbent. 53 want a new United States senator. They want somebody else. And for me, it's just going be about making sure we raise enough money. So again, go to ScottColomb.com. Raise enough money so I can tell my story.

which is rooted in going to DC to make the average Mississippians life better. I'm not asking people to send me up there to be the Democratic Senator.

You know, I'm asking the city out there to be Mississippi Senator because that's what we have to have these rural states. They have to get back to having leadership focus on their states. California's got close to 50 million people. They got two United States senators. Mississippi. got little less than 3 million. We got two United States senators. We have to use that to our advantage to make sure that we are delivered for rural America because when rural America does well, the country does well. We have to remember that.

Joel (12:56)
Scott, any fears at all about, you know, some of what the administration and others are proposing to mess with the votes this fall to make it harder for those votes to get counted, to be mailed in to? I mean, what are you doing? What are you focusing on through your campaign to make sure that people's vote counts?

Scott Colom (13:18)
Yeah, so I mean, I always think when I'm asked that question, the first thing to recognize is why are they doing it? They're doing it because they want to pick their voters. They don't want the voters to pick them. And as result of the bad policies, I mean, you can't trick people when they go to the grocery store and they look at their bill. can't tell them costs are going down or it's not having an impact when they're seeing their bill go up. You can't trick someone into believing that

you know, gas is not up when they go to the pump and they're paying more. So that's why they are concerned about trying to pick their voters rather than having the voters pick them. The good thing about a place like Mississippi is we have, I like to say it this way, we're not new to this, we're true to this. We've been through the voting rights battles. We have the organizations that know how to fight.

We're getting the resources and the attention to prepare ourselves for making sure every ballot counts, to making sure that we have free and fair elections. And so they've warned us early enough that we could be prepared to fight back and protect the ballot. ⁓ you know, we have some...

good partners that understand the importance of this election and making sure that voters in Mississippi get to pick their senator and not the senator picking the voters.

Heidi (14:44)
So, Scott, I have a question, and this is one that I used to get when I was running. OK, so you're going to your first day in the United States Senate. What committees are you going to fight to get on?

Scott Colom (14:55)
Well, of course, if I could get appropriations, I might have to to get appropriations because Mississippi is a state that really, you know, with that Cochran, with Senator Cochran, I tell people my dad was a Republican for a

time and one of his favorite senators was Senator Cochran because he said one he was just a heck of a politician you know he could just he knew everybody and just really had a touch for people but he was chair of appropriations and he could just bring so much resources to Mississippi I remember going to the Jackson State football game and at halftime Senator Cochran giving a $50,000 check to Jackson State at halftime that's a hard person to beat you know

And so, know, appropriation would be great. If not, would probably want to do agriculture or armed services because those are big important industries for Mississippi.

Joel (15:48)
So let me throw this out. Earlier, you talked about tariffs. And this is a conversation that Heidi and I have had many times. She's she's one of the go-to people that I have when it comes to economics on my on my drive up to do my talk show every day. ⁓ You know, this economy wasn't in great shape before the war in Iran. ⁓ It just simply wasn't. The tariffs were killing us here in the northern plains. What were they doing to you in Mississippi?

Scott Colom (16:18)
Yeah, they were causing chaos. mean, all the economic indicators show it was having really negative impacts. And, you know, the war I ran has taken it even to a worse level. But, you know, for me, I was worried about the gas prices, and I was talking a lot about what the war was doing to gas prices. But I had somebody come up to me, and I was at my daughter's softball game.

And I had somebody come up to me and because I posted these videos of me asking voters what matter, the person came up to me. He said, listen, I want to tell you what matters to me. He said, my son right now is in Iraq because of the war in Iran. And I'm at the softball game because I'm trying to support my granddaughter because he can't be here. I said, wow, that's tough situation. said, said, how's he doing? He said, well, know, it's up days and down days because he obviously would prefer to be here.

to watch his daughter play softball. And so he said to me, when you think about the cost of the war, remember how priceless it is for a father to miss his daughter's softball game. That's really the price of the war. And is that worth it? Is he paying the right price? Was that necessary? What's the justification for the war? Why are we not only putting his life on the line

But why are we taking them away from his family? Why are we taking away a moment he can't get back? And unfortunately, I can't answer that question. I don't know why we're in the war in Iran. It's not a clear objective. And people like Senator Cindy Highsmith, who's supposed to be our voice when it comes to these monumental decisions, she's not done one town hall, no explanation as to why we're at war, what is it for.

What are we gonna get out of it? How is it best for America or Mississippi? So I try to look at it through those layers because when you view it that personal, you remember what really we need to be thinking about.

Heidi (18:20)
Scott, that's an amazing story. I like this idea that you're recording ⁓ regular citizens on what they want and what their expectations are. It's a brilliant piece ⁓ of work. people ask me all the time, how did we get here? And I said, politicians got lazy. And they look at me and I go, no, they want to take shortcuts. They want to put an R behind their name in states like Mississippi.

Scott Colom (18:42)
Yes.

Ha ha ha!

Heidi (18:48)
and North Dakota and say, see, know, all I gotta do is tell you I'm a Republican. I don't have to actually talk to voters for God's sakes. I don't actually have to be responsible for the decisions that I make. Cause you know, I'm a Republican and the Democrats, you know, they, they have horns, you know, or a tail or whatever it is that they're going to say. And so you're proving, and, you know, this is why a race like yours is so important to prove the value of hard work and politics, the value of actually

conversations and not asking people, well, are you a Democratic voter or Republican voter? You're a person from Mississippi. I want your opinions. And that's just a classic example, I think, what you just gave about, and a reminder that the sacrifice as we're paying at the pump, it's not all monetary. That there are 13 families now who don't have a loved one, two in our neighboring state of... ⁓

Scott Colom (19:24)
Yeah.

Heidi (19:43)
of Minnesota and you see that pain and they'll live with that pain the rest of their lives. And that young soldier will live with the fact that he wasn't there at that softball game. And so that's just such a important reminder of the cost of this conflict, of this war.

Scott Colom (20:03)
Absolutely. It's, you know, I enjoy it. That's the other thing. I love campaigning. And, you know, really, God has really blessed me because he's put people in my campaign, he's put people in my life that value, you know, they help me learn. We have to center the voters. We have to center the voters. Too often, you know, I started

Heidi (20:08)
I can tell and they know it too because you can tell.

Joel (20:12)
Yeah.

Scott Colom (20:32)
was this in some of my campaign speeches and I was shocked at how much people gave me applause. I said, listen, too many of our politicians are trying to be celebrities. We gotta go back to centering the voters, making sure they understand we wanna make their life better. We wanna be public servants. And it's very important that I stay rooted in the voters. And part of what I do with my social media is, some of it's me talking, but a lot of it's other people talking.

you know, a barber cut my hair talking about, you know, how

Heidi (21:06)
What hair?

Joel (21:11)
Haha, it's going away quick. I'm losing it quick. My wife says

Scott Colom (21:14)
I should go bald but I don't want to fight fight. But ⁓ but yeah, you know, it's I'll just ask him about how he feels about Greenville, LaFleur Hospital closing because they filed for bankruptcy.

And he talked about what that's going to do to Greenwood and how that's going to have such a negative effect. And he's a powerful messenger for that, right? Because a politician saying it, people don't, they don't trust politicians, but a barber saying it, they trust that because they know that person's in that community. They're going to feel the consequences of it. And so we got to center the voters. We have to center the voters.

Joel (21:48)
So, Scott, I have a question for you, but first, I'm sitting here with a pen and I forgot to write it down. What's your website again?

Scott Colom (21:57)
ScottColombo.com. You are great. I love y'all. ScottColombo.com. I appreciate that. Dot com. Appreciate y'all. Absolutely.

Joel (22:02)
There we go.

Heidi (22:03)
C-O-L-O-M. Colom.

Joel (22:05)
So,

Scott, you walk into a gas station, you're in a scenic station someplace like that, and there's four guys over in the corner and they're shooting dice and arguing about who's got to buy the coffee, right? Every one of them has traditionally and, you know, has consistently voted Republican. ⁓ You walk over, you sit at that table. What are you going to say to them? What are you going to do to convince them that you know what?

Scott Colom (22:26)
Right, right.

Joel (22:34)
They need to make a change and that change needs to be you.

Scott Colom (22:39)
Two of them don't even know who Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is. They don't know. So, I just say, because I ask a lot of people, because they're surprised to hear me asking what matters to them. And they'll say, do you know who your senator is? And a lot of them have no clue, right? So two of them don't even know who she is. So what I say to them is, listen, this is an important election.

If you think things are going well, then either you can not vote or vote for the status quo, right? But if you think things are going poorly, you need to vote to go in a new direction. I'm your only option. I'm your only option. So and they always tell me things are not going well. So I'm your option for the new direction. The people that do know ⁓ Cindy Hyde-Smith, it's not much I have to say to convince them because they...

kind of have a really vague sense of what she does and they know she's a Republican. And what I tell them is, you know, I'm running on making, you know, I'm gonna fight for higher wages. I'm gonna fight for lower costs. I'm not a supporter of the tariffs. You know, I think we got to raise the minimum wage because it boosts wages. I believe people should have affordable and accessible healthcare. That's gonna be an impact for, you know, even people with insurance in Mississippi. That's what I'm running on.

And you know, that sounds appealing to you and you want somebody that's gonna fight for that. I'm your guy. If you don't care about how weight is lower cost or health care, then hey, I don't know about the person for you. And that's what I tell them.

Heidi (24:16)
Yeah. Well, I think just to maybe do a little schadenfreude ⁓ or what goes around comes around, she could have gotten rid of you as a candidate by a lot for those folks who don't know you had been nominated and had great bipartisan support for a federal judgeship. so

⁓ She didn't need to run against you. And if I were her, that was a critical mistake. She needed to get you out of Mississippi politics and on that bench. So she might live to rue that decision.

Scott Colom (24:53)
I was happy to do it too. It was my mom's dream. My mom was an elected judge.

And her dream was to be a federal judge because she was a big fan of Thurgood Marshall. That's one of reasons she went to law school. And she was so proud when it even got suggested that I could be a federal judge that she really encouraged me to do it and explain the difference I could make. And like you said, I got bipartisan support. I mean, got Congressman Benny Thompson, Senator Roger Wicker.

former governor Phil Bryant, person that appointed her to the position to support my nomination. It ain't easy to get them three people to agree. I think if you think that's easy, I got some beachfront property in the Delta, I'll sell you if you think that's easy. But, ⁓ you know, I will tell you though, it's not the reason I'm running because it may be the reason my wife has let me do it to be honest. She let me do it. But I...

Joel (25:30)
You

Scott Colom (25:53)
easy for me to forgive her for it just because I'm a Christian and because I see victims of violent crime forgive people all the time. And I understand that, you know, you're not entitled to something like that. And for me, it did wake me up to how poorly she was representing Mississippi because I was a district attorney. I got two young kids. I try to be a good father or a good son to my parents. I wasn't paying that close attention to how she was voting in D.C. But

Once she blocked, I said, let me see how she does. And I saw that she voted against the infrastructure bill. I said, why would you vote against bringing billions of dollars to Mississippi? Then I saw that she was bragging about money that was coming to Mississippi that she voted against. Then I saw that she cut Medicaid for 140,000 Mississippians. And I just said, man, listen, I can't.

allowed that type of failed leadership to represent a state that I love so much and I believe has a lot of potential. I really believe that. mean, When we win, one of the things I want people to understand, it's not going to be about me. It's not going to be this miraculous, you know, thing that I did. It's going to be the people of Mississippi. They are ready to go in a new direction. They are behind me 100%. And I'm just so blessed and so thankful. I mean, had people last night, they did a

barbecue fundraiser for me. A small business owner. I'm on barbecue for people just to get them there and I just want them to get behind you. I want to donate whatever they can and when you have people like that behind you, you can't help but just work harder and harder to get your message out, bring attention to the race so I can raise the money I need and give people the people Mississippi that leadership they deserve because man, they deserve a lot better than what they get.

Heidi (27:40)
Well, are, I think anybody who didn't understand what we were saying about you being in a competitive race, I think we've convinced them in the last 30 minutes that you are the real deal, but a breath of fresh air into a stale political system. are, Scott, I can't wait to watch this race. It's going to be exciting.

Joel (27:40)
Yeah.

Scott Colom (28:01)
Thank you so much.

Listen, I will say one final thing if you don't mind. That's interesting. I tell people I'm the most vetted person running for United States Senate. I was vetted by the FBI and the DOJ. To get the nomination to be a federal judge is no joke the amount of vetting you have to go through. but go ahead, Joel. I'm Yeah,

Joel (28:02)
Yeah.

Yeah. And let's add to that your wife. Which was,

Heidi (28:24)
Yeah.

Joel (28:28)
that was the most important vetting that you had. Scott, I would ask you what your website is, but then I'd look foolish. But I will tell you this. Good luck to you, man. I mean, we need you.

Scott Colom (28:30)
Yes.

God bless y'all. Thank y'all for having me. Thank you for the opportunity.

Heidi (28:42)
And we just want

you to know that we're on the north end of that watershed that sends all that water from the Missouri into the Mississippi. So we're connected, we're connected by water and that's the lifeline of the country in the middle of this country. We are so excited and you you answered that question on what committees by telling me you're going on the Ag Committee if you can. So you're in my team, you're on my team.

Scott Colom (29:04)
I appreciate

y'all. God bless y'all. Thank y'all so much.

Heidi (29:08)
God

bless you. Good luck.

Joel (29:10)
Yep.

Heidi (29:13)
How exciting was Scott to talk to? mean, just to put a smile on your face. You know what I really love that he said, He said he's out there having fun. He's out there enjoying meeting people, visiting with people. I can just see the staff behind him trying to get him out of a room because he's too busy yacking it up and trying to, I mean, think somebody with that level of enthusiasm. And the other thing he said is he said, I'm not doing this because she didn't as a

Joel (29:22)
Yeah.

Heidi (29:43)
as a vengeful thing, I'm a Christian. I don't, you know, she gets to do what she needs to do, but I started looking at her record and that's what motivated me. He's just, he's our kind of people, Joel.

Joel (29:56)
Well, there's one other thing he said that stuck out to me, which is when I asked him about those four people shooting dice for coffee, I asked him what he would say to those four Republicans who have voted consistently Republican. He said two of them would know his opponent. Well, what I learned during that interview was that first thing is he'd walk up to him. He would walk up to him and he'd talk to him. And I think that's the most important part.

Heidi (30:02)
Mm-hmm.

Well, I think he's right.

⁓ I think he's hitting on all cylinders and I would not bet against this guy. This is exciting. It's exciting for those of us who have struggled to find a foothold and find the right candidates in states like Mississippi and Missouri. And we just go down the line to have somebody who is in it for the right reason, who is doing ⁓ the work for all of us.

to help redefine what we care about in the Democratic Party. God bless him. Good on him.

Joel (30:56)
Yeah,

you know, I need to follow up on our conversation about the Senate race in Mississippi. We've got a question from a listener about the Ohio Senate race. Listener Jim wrote to ask us about Sherrod Brown's chances of winning that seat in Ohio. Your thoughts?

Heidi (31:13)
Okay, so let's just, mean, I know people like don't always like it when you get wonky, but when you look at all of the off year elections leading up to this midterm, you're seeing a 15 to 20 point swing. I mean, by that, mean, if it were a plus 30 Trump district, you're seeing Republicans only win by 10%. That, I mean, across the board, see it in Tennessee, you see it in the deep reddest places.

You see it in Mississippi in some legislative races. Okay, so now everybody think about that. Think about the mood of the people and what's happening right now in terms of how they are responding at the ballot box. Sherrod only lost his race last time by less than 4%. So if he had picked up 4 % more people in Ohio, so just apply that, let's just say it's 10%.

The numbers would tell you that he's got a six point advantage today and he's running against a lackluster candidate. Again, like Cindy Hyde Smith in Mississippi, somebody who was appointed never really had to work for the job and thinks all you do is put an R behind your name and somehow you're going to be elected. This guy was lieutenant governor and I think he had to run with the governor, never put his name on the ballot independently.

And Sherrod, you know, by all accounts, you know, kind of you get tired being a United States Senator, you just get worn down and you're working the program every day. He's had two years off to kind of hit the refresh button. And people say he's having a ball out there, that he is just doing great ⁓ in those, ⁓ you know, VFW halls. And I will tell you this about Sherrod Brown. There is not an ounce of inauthenticity in that man.

He believes in the working people of this country. He believes that we all do better when the working people do better. He used to stand up at caucus and say, remember to tip the hotel workers. He just never took a breath without fighting for working people. And people in Ohio know that. And this, I expect you're gonna see Sherrod back, but you're gonna see a renewed Sherrod, somebody who now has had a chance to rethink why he would wanna come to the Senate.

and ⁓ with a new vim and vigor and maybe a new bounce in his step to help working people.

Joel (33:43)
Well, I don't think there's any question that he's not going to be, you know, nobody's going to outwork him. mean, nobody's going to. And ⁓ no one knows Ohio better than him. And he's just genuine. You know, I had a chance to meet him. And I have to tell you, it's hard when you meet him not to like him. And I think that that plays in as well.

Heidi (34:04)
Yeah, you know, so I think you look at Maine and you know, the Democratic primary in Maine got straightened out. And so now it's pretty clear who are the candidates going to be. Huge contrast in Maine between two candidates, one totally insider. And this is not a year to be an insider. This is not a year to be a status quo candidate. And you look down in ⁓ North Carolina, people shouldn't take that for granted.

Wright Cooper, and they nominated somebody pretty moderate down there, the Republicans did. so I'd say pay attention there. I think you're looking at, know, know, Florida and Texas, lots of money. Are they possible? I don't know, you know, those people who are listening saying, where could I throw, you know, 100 200 bucks, you know, look where nobody else is going. That's what I would say and and take it. People took a took a leap of faith with me when no one thought I could win.

And I was able to win because people helped, but exactly what Scott was talking about, the people who held barbecues, they did what they could. And that kind of support you never forget. And it makes all the difference in the Senate race. And everybody thinks it shouldn't, but it does.

Joel (35:14)
You bet.

Heidi (35:16)
thanks for joining us today on the hot dish brought to you by One Country.

Joel (35:21)
You can learn more about us at onecountryproject.org and be sure to follow us on Substack, YouTube, Facebook and Blue Sky.

Heidi (35:30)
And we're going to be back next week with more hot dish comfort food for rural America.