The Last Word.... 

President Donald Trump campaigned in Mississippi on Monday as part of a final stretch of midterm appearances that has taken him to several Republican-leaning states.

The rally was held for Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who faces a challenge from Democrat Scott Colom in a state that has long favored Republicans. The election could help determine control of Congress and state governments. "I’m here because Cindy’s doing great, but I just got to make sure. I can’t take a chance," Trump told the crowd, his voice audibly hoarse, as he urged support for Hyde-Smith. Colom was also at the rally site. Trump later attacked him from the stage, calling him a "Marxist radical" and a "fake" and "shameless phony who pretends to be a moderate." Before the president arrived, Colom said he had planned to listen to Trump’s supporters. "They actually deserve a senator that will listen to them, that actually cares about what they think, actually cares about what they’re going through," Colom said. 

Amendment L is one of four ballot questions voters are considering in the state’s general election. The ballot question deals with state constitutional amendments, which only voters can approve. Lawmakers can place amendments on the ballot, and so can citizens if they collect enough signatures from registered South Dakota voters. Ballot questions need a simple majority from voters to pass, but Amendment L would change the threshold for future amendments to 60%. In recent years, voters have approved constitutional amendments expanding Medicaid eligibility and legalizing recreational marijuana (although the marijuana amendment was subjected to a lawsuit and invalidated by judges), among others. Policies should not be part of the constitution, said state Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, who sponsored the 2025 resolution that lawmakers passed to put Amendment L on this year’s ballot. He said policies should be proposed and debated as regular laws, and the constitution should only contain foundational provisions like the structure and powers of government. “Amendment L is a recognition that, through proper voter education, we will see the wisdom of reserving our state constitution as a permanent structure that, by and large, should stay the same and not be changed,” Hughes said. In the Legislature, Hughes’ resolution to put Amendment L on the ballot received support from entities including the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida-based think tank whose website says it supports work requirements for the beneficiaries of social welfare programs, annual recertification for unions and the securing or elimination of ballot drop boxes to protect what it calls election integrity, among other issues. It also opposes what it describes as “far-left” efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Similar attempts to raise the threshold for voter approval of ballot questions have been rejected by voters in past elections. In 2018, voters defeated Constitutional Amendment X, which would have raised the approval requirement for constitutional amendments to 55%. Constitutional Amendment C failed in 2022. That measure would have required 60% voter support for ballot questions that increase taxes or fees or require the state to spend $10 million or more in a measure’s first five years of implementation. Chase Jensen, a senior organizer with the nonprofit Dakota Rural Action, opposes Amendment L. He said Republican lawmakers want to prevent voters from approving amendments — like the one requiring Medicaid expansion, which passed four years ago — that the lawmakers don’t like. Citizens petitioned the Medicaid expansion amendment onto the ballot after Republican lawmakers refused to adopt the expansion.