Scott Colom is a seventh-generation Mississippian born and raised in Columbus. He is the son of retired Judge Dorothy Colom (first African-American elected to her region's Chancery Court) and Wilbur Colom (an attorney and former Republican Reagan administration employee). Colom earned his law degree and has served as a prosecutor, judge, and since 2015 as District Attorney for the 16th Judicial District (Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, Oktibbeha counties). He achieved a 94-96% conviction rate, prosecuted corrupt sheriffs, and solved record numbers of cold cases. He was nominated by President Biden in November 2022 to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi but had his nomination blocked by Hyde-Smith's refusal to return her 'blue slip' in 2023. He is married with two daughters and is a lifelong member of Missionary Union Baptist Church.

Cindy Hyde-Smith is the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Congress. A Brookhaven native from a fifth-generation farming family, she served three terms in the Mississippi State Senate (2000-2012, initially as a Democrat before switching to Republican in 2010), then served as Mississippi's Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner (2012-2018) before being appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2018 by Gov. Phil Bryant to replace retiring Sen. Thad Cochran. She won a special election in 2018 and a full term in 2020, defeating Democrat Mike Espy both times. She serves on the Appropriations Committee (including as Chair of the Transportation/HUD subcommittee), Agriculture Committee, Energy Committee, and Rules Committee.