‘Fun fact’: Dana Bash amused as GOP senator's Biden-era block may now cost her Senate seat

CNN’s Dana Bash pointed out a striking irony Thursday as Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith fights for her political survival in Mississippi: She once blocked the Democrat now leading her from becoming a federal judge.

Democrat Scott Colom held a narrow lead over Hyde-Smith Thursday, with thousands of ballots still outstanding in the unexpectedly competitive race. If he wins, he would be the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Mississippi since 1982.

During CNN’s coverage, Bash highlighted a detail she said deserved more attention.

“One fun fact, if you want to call it that, that I think goes underreported, [is] that Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked Scott Colom from being on the federal bench,” Bash said. “He was going to be, yeah, he was going to be a judge. And so, had she not blocked him, maybe she would still be in the Senate.”

Hyde-Smith refused to return her blue slip on Colom’s 2023 nomination by then-President Joe Biden to a federal judgeship in northern Mississippi, a move that may now backfire. She bragged about it at her reelection launch. “He thought he was going to be a federal judge, and I blocked him,” she said to applause.

CNN’s Manu Raju said Republicans he has talked to think the race is “going in the wrong direction,” adding that the result “shows you how lackluster of a candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith was.”

CNN’s Kristen Holmes reported that the White House was angry with the Trump-backed senator over her campaign.

“The White House was really mad at her,” Holmes said. “They said that she didn’t do any fundraising, that she didn’t lift a finger on that.”

But Holmes added that the blame extended beyond Hyde-Smith. “Again, all of this goes back to Donald Trump and his policies,” she said.

Colom told reporters earlier Thursday he was “very confident” about the outstanding ballots. “You look at the ballots that are left,” he said. “You know it’s going in our favor.”