Priscilla Williams-Till, a cousin of Emmett Till, has officially launched her campaign for the U.S. Senate in Mississippi. Running as a Democrat, Williams-Till is challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in the 2026 election. She announced her candidacy in September 2025, citing civil rights, social justice, and representation for Mississippi communities as the driving forces behind her run.
Williams-Till’s campaign priorities include advancing civil rights, protecting reproductive freedoms, and expanding access to healthcare. “I am running for United States Senator to help shape and enact laws that promote social justice and civil rights protections at a national level in Mississippi that will address historical and ongoing inequalities, while representing marginalized communities that work towards an equitable society,” she stated on her campaign website.
Her candidacy carries a powerful family legacy. At just 14 years old, her cousin Emmett Till was brutally tortured and murdered in the Mississippi Delta in 1955—a tragedy that became a catalyst for the civil rights movement. Williams-Till is also the founder of Emmett Till Justice for Families, a nonprofit connected with the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation. The organization advocates for social justice and applies pressure on elected officials to reopen civil rights–era cold cases.
This is not the first time a Till relative has sought office. Another cousin ran for Congress in Minnesota in 2004, while Reverend Wheeler Till visited the White House in 2022 to join President Biden as he signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act into law.
If Williams-Till secures the Democratic nomination on March 10, 2026, she will face Hyde-Smith in the general election on November 3, 2026. Hyde-Smith, who has held the seat since 2018, sparked controversy during her first campaign after remarking that if a supporter invited her to a public hanging, she “would be on the front row.”
Williams-Till says her run is about honoring her family’s legacy while addressing today’s urgent issues.
