Meet the 27-year old behind the protein ad that helped flip Mississippi
Ryan Sayles, a 27-year-old Mississippi content creator, is behind arguably the best political spot of the election cycle: Democrat Scott Colom’s viral “ pick another protein ” ad against GOP Sen.
Key points
- Mississippians knew about Scott Colom’s content and what he was doing, but it wasn't nationwide — and I think that ad really put a national focus on what was brewing in Mississippi.
- “I was looking at the first numbers when it first dropped, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is about to be a really good video,’” he told POLITICO after Colom’s historic Senate race victory in the longtime Republican stronghold.
- With the ad — and Colom’s win — Sayles has gone from a newcomer who stumbled into campaigning almost by accident to a name to watch in Democratic digital politics, as the party looks for fresh ways to reach voters ahead of 2028.
The ad featured Mississippi voters’ blunt reactions to Hyde-Smith’s suggestion that people struggling with rising beef prices choose from other protein options.
Additional details
- He did GAME CHANGING work with SO little.” In an interview with POLITICO, Sayles described how his lack of prior political experience shaped his approach to creating the ad and why he thinks Democrats should listen more closely to the voters they’re trying to reach.
- A lot of our content was getting around Mississippi, but it wasn't getting around the country.
- And, it’s given Democrats across the country another blueprint for how to break through online ahead of a critical 2028 presidential race, as the party continues to rethink its strategy.
- For Mississippi, of course it resonated because that's something we say down here.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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