Democrat Scott Colom Secures Historic Senate Victory in Mississippi After Tight Race

Democrat Scott Colom has emerged victorious in Mississippi's US Senate race, a stunning upset projected by US media on Wednesday after days of ballot counting. Colom defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, marking a significant moment as he becomes the Southern state's first Black senator since the Reconstruction era following the Civil War. This outcome was among the final races to be decided after Tuesday's elections, which saw Democrats achieve substantial gains, securing control of both chambers of the US Congress. With Colom's win, Democrats now hold at least 55 Senate seats, with one race in Alaska still pending a call. The Mississippi race was exceptionally close, with officials taking several days to count votes in a contest where Colom's lead at times narrowed to just a few dozen votes. Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney, is the first Democrat to win a Mississippi Senate seat since John Stennis in 1982. Hyde-Smith, 67, who was first elected in 2018, had been favored in opinion polls in Mississippi, a state President Donald Trump carried by nearly 23 points in 2024. Trump had actively campaigned for Hyde-Smith in the state shortly before the election. In an October interview with Reuters, Colom suggested that Mississippi voters felt "betrayed" by Trump's policies, citing the conflict in Iran and its impact on fuel prices. An image shows an Election Commissioner sorting affidavit ballots at the Rankin County Election Commission facility on November 10, 2026, in Brandon, Mississippi, provided by Getty Images via AFP. During his campaign, Colom prioritized engaging voters through town hall meetings, visits to public housing, festivals, and food trucks, stating, "We did it the hard way, the grassroots way." His campaign received a boost from October rallies featuring Democratic Senators Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Cory Booker of New Jersey. The last Black senator elected from Mississippi was Blanche Bruce in 1874, a former slave. In 2023, Hyde-Smith had opposed Colom's nomination by former President Joe Biden to a federal district judge position in northern Mississippi, citing his stance on transgender issues. Mississippi's other US senator, Republican Roger Wicker, had supported Colom's nomination.