Candidate · November 3, 2026

Cindy Hyde-Smith

On the ballot for U.S. Senate · Mississippi

RepublicanIncumbent
raised through Oct 14, 2026
$4.6M
cash on hand
$1.4M
issues with public statements
7
outside spending for or against
$5.9M

§1On the ballot

Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.

OfficeU.S. Senate · Mississippi1,2,3,4
Party on the ballotRepublican1,2
StatusIncumbent — Currently serves as a U.S. senator from Mississippi.5
Also on the ballot

§2Who they are

Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Cindy Hyde-Smith was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2018 by Governor Phil Bryant to fill the seat vacated by Senator Thad Cochran, and won a special election for the seat in November 2018.6 She is the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Congress.6 Before joining the Senate, she was Mississippi's commissioner of agriculture and commerce, first elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2015, and before that she served 12 years in the Mississippi State Senate, including eight years as chair of its Agriculture Committee.6 She is a graduate of Copiah-Lincoln Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi.6 She and her husband raise beef cattle and are partners in Lincoln County Livestock, a stockyard auction market in Brookhaven, where they live.6

Why they say they're running

Her campaign website asks voters to keep her in the Senate as a conservative and a supporter of President Trump, and says she will always put Mississippi first.7

Service in Congress since 2023

  • 2021–nowU.S. Senator, MS5

Websites and accounts

§3What they've said on the issues

Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.

Taxes and Budget

Balanced budget amendment

Her campaign website says she will work to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.10

  1. Add a balanced budget requirement to the Constitution
  2. No amendment; limit spending by law instead, such as with spending caps
  3. No constitutional requirement or new spending limits
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Federal income tax rates

Her campaign website says she has always supported lower taxes and backs the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed by President Trump.11

Abortion and Reproductive Health

Abortion law

Her campaign website says she believes all children, including the unborn, have a right to life given by their Creator, and that she will vote to confirm judges she describes as pro-life.12

Government funding and abortion

Her campaign website says she opposes taxpayer funding of abortions.12

Health Care

Health insurance system

Her campaign website says the Affordable Care Act should be repealed and replaced with a plan that helps families afford coverage without expanding the government's role in health care.13

Immigration

Border wall and barriers

Her campaign website says illegal immigration must end and that she supports President Trump's plans to build a wall on the southwestern border and to increase funding for immigration enforcement.14

  1. Build walls or fencing along much more of the border
  2. Add barriers only in selected places, relying mainly on technology and agents
  3. Build no new barriers and spend the money on other border security
Marked: the option their statement matches.

Education

US Department of Education

Her campaign website says the federal government should support states' efforts to improve education but should not dictate how they do it.15

§4Popular bills that never got a vote

Why this matters: Many bills with wide support from both parties never reach a vote, so no member of Congress is ever on record for or against them. Signing on as a sponsor or cosponsor is the only public record of support.

While Cindy Hyde-Smith served, these bills had broad support from both parties but never reached a floor vote. No officeholder ever had to vote on them. Cindy Hyde-Smith sponsored or cosponsored 37 of the 50. How bills die without a vote.

See all 50

§5Money

Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.

Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.66

Raised$4,646,803
Spent$3,720,843
Cash on hand$1,395,724
Debts owed by the campaign$60,000

Where the money came from

Individual donors$2.4M · 52%
PACs and other political committees$1.3M · 28%
Political party committees$62K · 1%
Transfers from the candidate's other committees$890K · 19%
Other receipts (other loans, refunds, interest)$203 · 0%

Outside spending

Groups spending independently reported $695,458 supporting and $5,160,337 opposing Cindy Hyde-Smith this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 26, 2026.67

Largest independent spenders, as named in their FEC filings.
GroupSupportingOpposing
AB PAC—$2,278,559
WinSenate—$1,206,553
NEW SOUTHERN MAJORITY IE PAC—$810,595
AMERICAN MISSION$494,528—
New Deal for All, Inc.—$481,500
Government That Works PAC—$225,740
Conservative Leaders of America$154,559—
UNITED FUTURES PAC—$150,211

Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.

§6Financial disclosures

Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.

Senate candidates and senators file with the Senate's own disclosure system, which asks each visitor to agree to its terms before searching, so we can't link straight to a filing. You can search for Cindy Hyde-Smith at efdsearch.senate.gov68.