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MapScott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Race, Becoming State’s First Black Senator Since Reconstruction
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Scott Colom defeats incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith to become Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction. Victory marks Democrats flip in deep-red Mississippi, boosting party Senate majority.
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Colom wins Mississippi Senate
Democrat Scott Colom won the US Senate race in Mississippi, delivering what the BBC described as a shock victory in a state that has elected Republicans for decades. Colom, 43, won with 49.2% of the vote while incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith received 48.7% and an independent candidate got 2.1%, according to figures from CBS.
Hyde-Smith congratulated Colom in a video posted on X, saying, "While this was not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters," and Colom told supporters, "They did not believe a moment like this was possible, but I kept the faith," as he spoke at Tougaloo College. The result meant Democrats would hold 55 seats in the 100-member Senate, with an Alaska Senate race still to be called, and the BBC said the victory made Colom the first black person from Mississippi to be elected to the US Senate in more than 140 years.
Faith, civil rights, and rivals
Scott Colom celebrated his projected win by telling a crowd that he had to have faith to keep campaigning when others did not believe in him, saying, "But I kept the faith," during his victory rally Wednesday night.
Colom also framed the moment as collective effort, telling supporters, "it’s not something that I did y’all. It’s something we did," and he said, "For me, this journey started with a prayer, y’all," as he paid homage to Hiram Revels and civil rights figures including Medgar Evers and Fannie Lou Hamer.
Hyde-Smith conceded in a video posted to social media, saying, "While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters," and she added, "I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state."
The Associated Press called the contest Wednesday, November 11, in Colom's favor after local elections officials spent several days processing absentee and provisional ballots, called affidavit ballots in Mississippi.
What the win changes next
NBC News projected that Colom’s victory would raise the Democrats’ majority to 55 seats in the next Congress, while the Alaska Senate race remained uncalled. The Guardian said a victory in Alaska for Democrat Mary Peltola would bring the majority to 56 seats, and it reported that Colom’s defeat of incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith would mean the new US Senate convenes in January with at least 55 seats.
Colom’s win also positioned him as the first Black senator ever directly elected by the voters of Mississippi, and Roll Call said he would join several other Democrats who flipped seats in deep-red states including Texas, Kansas, and South Carolina. In Alaska, an Alaska judge ruled that a request by Mary Peltola’s campaign for a list of absentee voters whose ballots have been rejected was "not reasonable," particularly given the time crunch election officials face as they continue counting ballots from last week’s election.