Democrat Scott Colom has defeated Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s Senate election, according to an Associated Press report Wednesday, Nov. 11. The result adds Mississippi to the states where Democrats have taken Senate seats from Republicans during this midterm election cycle.
Colom, a local district attorney, will become the first Black senator to represent Mississippi since the Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War. His projected win also delivers a result that national analysts had viewed as unlikely before Election Day, joining a series of surprising Democratic victories in the midterms.
Hyde-Smith called Colom late Wednesday afternoon to concede the race, according to two sources close to his campaign. In a video posted on X, the Republican incumbent acknowledged the outcome and said she respected the choice made by Mississippi’s voters, even though it was not the result she and her campaign had sought.
In the same video, Hyde-Smith offered congratulations to the Democrat who defeated her. “I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state,” she said. Her public remarks followed the concession call described by the sources close to Colom’s campaign.
With the Mississippi result, Democrats are set to hold at least 55 seats in the Senate. The party has flipped at least eight seats previously held by Republicans, securing a majority while one Senate election remains unresolved. Mississippi’s outcome adds to those gains despite the expectations national analysts had expressed before voting.
Alaska is the only state whose Senate contest has yet to be called. Democratic nominee Mary Peltola, a former member of the House of Representatives, holds a narrow lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. That outstanding race leaves the final size of the Democratic Senate majority unsettled.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, celebrated Colom’s victory in a post on X. Schumer credited the candidate personally with achieving the result and said he had believed Colom could win from their first meeting.
Democrats have also won enough seats to take control of the House of Representatives. Their victories across the two chambers mean the party will hold both the House and the Senate when the next Congress begins in January.
