Democrat Scott Colom won the U.S. Senate election in Mississippi after The Associated Press called the race eight days after voting. He defeated Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 4,669 votes, with 962,237 ballots counted. The margin was 0.5 percentage points – 49.2% for Colom compared with 48.7% for Hyde-Smith.
The vote made the 43-year-old prosecutor from the northern part of the state the first Democrat elected as a senator from Mississippi since John Stennis in 1982. Colom is also the first Black senator elected from the state since the Reconstruction era, when Mississippi sent Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce to the Senate.
Hyde-Smith Concedes Defeat
Hyde-Smith, who has held the Senate seat since 2018, conceded defeat after the result was called. “I respect the decision of Mississippi voters. I congratulate Scott Colom and wish him success as he assumes the enormous responsibility of representing our state,” she said.
The Associated Press said Colom increased his lead in the final updates to the results, including after provisional ballots, known in Mississippi as affidavit ballots, were counted. Following the final update from Jackson County, he led by 4,669 votes.
Unexpected Turnaround in a Traditionally Republican State
The victory is particularly significant because Donald Trump won Mississippi by nearly 23 percentage points in 2024. Republicans controlled all statewide offices, while pre-election forecasts described the Senate race as a safe one for the Republican Party.
Colom focused on mobilizing Black voters in the Mississippi Delta, dissatisfaction with the economy and criticism of Hyde-Smith. One of his most widely circulated advertisements mocked a remark she made suggesting that amid high beef prices, consumers could choose another source of protein.
His candidacy received support from former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said: “Scott Colom is the only person who could have pulled this off. Together with his team and volunteers, he ran the campaign of his life and redefined what is possible for Democrats in the South.”
The Clash That Began with a Blocked Judicial Nomination
In 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Colom to be a federal judge in the Northern District of Mississippi. Republican Senators Roger Wicker and former Governor Haley Barbour supported the nomination, but Hyde-Smith blocked it by exercising senators’ right to stop judicial appointments from their state.
Colom subsequently turned his attention to the Senate without presenting his campaign as personal revenge. His victory will give Democrats 55 seats in the upper chamber of Congress, with the party gaining a total of eight Senate seats in the midterm elections. The results must now be formally certified by Mississippi election officials.
Sources: apnews.com, mississippitoday.org