What was voters' beef? Beef prices
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If you had to pick one political advertisement to sum up voters' biggest economic beef heading into the midterms, it might have been the one about, well, beef:
- A viral spot for Mississippi's Democratic Senate candidate, Scott Colom, making fun of his opponent's comment that people should simply "pick another protein" to deal with higher beef prices.
Why it matters: The spiking cost of red meat really rankled this year — perhaps rivaled only by the price of gas as the hottest, most painful economic indicator of 2026.
The big picture: Like prices at the pump, prices at the supermarket are particularly salient because for most of us they are unavoidable.
- First, most folks are shopping for groceries frequently enough that it's hard not to notice costs rising.
- And, obviously, people must buy food.
- Contrast that with, say, the higher cost of a car. If auto prices spike, most people can put off the purchase.
Zoom in: Colom's 30-second ad starts out with a clip of Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who in a February interview told a local TV anchor:
- "You have so many proteins to choose from," after being asked about the rising price of beef and cost of living.
- The spot quickly pivots to a guy grilling a hamburger: "Pick another protein? Shii..., I'd rather pick another senator instead."
- Then a few more join in — a woman at a diner, another at the supermarket — all the while hip-hop music thumps in the background.
Follow the money: About a week or so after Colom posted the ad in October, the Senate Majority PAC put $1.2 million into the long-shot candidacy. Another half-million came in from the Senate Democrats campaign arm; it noted the "proteins" comment in its press release.
- The race is still too close to call. Mississippi hasn't elected a Democratic senator since 1982.
💭 Thought bubble from Axios Communicators' Simon Hernandez-Arthur: Colom's ad went viral because it was fun.
- Attack ads are usually dour and formulaic: An ominous voice-over details a rival's transgressions, often stripped of context. This cycle even brought deepfakes, adding a new layer of artificiality.
- Colom flipped the script. Over a funky, "Rapper's Delight"-style bass line, people react with almost giddy disbelief rather than outrage.
Zoom out: It wasn't simply the price of beef, but the White House policy response in relaxing restrictions on imported beef. That rankled domestic cattle producers.
By the numbers: The price of a pound of ground beef — typically one of the most affordable ways to buy beef — is up about 22% since President Trump took office last year — that's nearly four times as fast as overall consumer prices over that period.
- Mostly this is because of a drought that had shrunk the U.S. cattle herd to its lowest level to its lowest level in 75 years.
- But spiking diesel prices then helped push costs up even further.
The bottom line: High beef prices turned out to be red meat for a campaign ad.
