Democrat Scott Colom has defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s Senate race, delivering a major upset in one of the country’s most reliably Republican states. The Associated Press declared him the winner on Wednesday after more than a week of counting, making him the first Black senator elected from Mississippi since Reconstruction.
Colom moved narrowly ahead late on election night and increased his advantage as officials processed absentee and provisional ballots. Hyde-Smith conceded in a two-minute video posted on social media, acknowledging the voters’ decision and congratulating her opponent. The result ends a Democratic drought in Mississippi Senate elections stretching back to 1982.
Mississippi last sent a Black senator to Washington in 1875. Colom is the first Black man in the state’s history to win a Senate seat through a popular vote, since state legislators selected senators during Reconstruction. His victory means Mississippi has sent more Black people to the Senate than any state except Illinois. Its previous Black senator, Blanche K Bruce, was born into slavery.
The outcome adds to a national Democratic advance driven by anger at Donald Trump’s administration, with Republicans losing in areas where Democrats had struggled to compete for decades. Colom’s victory brings the Democrats’ incoming Senate total to at least 55 seats, marking their largest midterm gain since 1986. Across the south, the president’s efforts to redraw Black-majority districts and weaken largely Democratic voting blocs also motivated voters.
Colom had already demonstrated an ability to defeat established incumbents. In 2015, he ousted a district attorney who had served for nearly 30 years, becoming the first Black person to hold that office in Mississippi’s 16th circuit. He recorded a 94% conviction success rate as district attorney. A seventh-generation Mississippian, Colom is the son of a longtime Republican who campaigned for Ronald Reagan.
The Senate contest also followed a previous clash between the candidates over Colom’s judicial nomination. Joe Biden nominated him for a federal judgeship in northern Mississippi, and he attracted support from Republicans and Democrats. Hyde-Smith nevertheless prevented a confirmation hearing. As the Senate race tightened, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris and Bill Clinton appeared for Colom, while Trump campaigned for Hyde-Smith.
Running on the promise that “Mississippi matters”, Colom pledged to represent residents who backed both his opponent and the president. He attended a Trump rally for Hyde-Smith in Corinth, where he discussed gasoline prices, grocery costs and health insurance with attendees. His campaign also turned Hyde-Smith’s suggestion that consumers choose other proteins amid rising beef prices into a viral advertisement, then distributed free tacos from a truck.
Colom continued visiting colleges and local businesses while the count proceeded. National voting organizations and lawyers joined local groups, with Democratic and Republican organizations deploying hundreds of volunteers and attorneys across Mississippi’s 82 counties to monitor counting. State law provides no automatic recount. Any recount requires a court order following a lawsuit, and ballot challenges must proceed county by county.
