Democrat Scott Colom Flips Mississippi Senate Seat in Historic Midterm Upset

Democratic nominee Scott Colom defeated incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith on Wednesday in Mississippi's U.S. Senate race, giving the state its first Black senator since the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War.

The Associated Press projected victory for Colom on Wednesday after local election officials spent days processing mail-in absentee and provisional affidavit ballots, giving him a lead of more than 4,400 votes.

The result delivers Democrats a major victory in a southern conservative state that Donald Trump won by more than 22 percentage points two years ago, expanding the party's new Senate majority to at least 54 seats.

"While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters," said Cindy Hyde-Smith, the incumbent Republican senator, in a video statement released after the race call.

A spokesman for the senator said Hyde-Smith also called Colom to congratulate him and concede the contest before posting her statement online.

The victory by Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney, breaks a Republican winning streak in Mississippi Senate races that dates back to 1982.

Colom built his campaign around grassroots organizing, accessible healthcare, saving rural hospitals and economic concerns, while seeking to reach voters across racial and geographic divides.

"We did it the hard way, the grassroots way," said Scott Colom, the district attorney for the state's 16th judicial district, following the election results.

The campaign drew support from high-profile Democrats in its final weeks, including visits from former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

"Scott Colom is the only person who could've gotten this done," said Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, in a post on social media following the race call.

According to the BBC, Colom's margin grew as election workers processed thousands of affidavit ballots cast by voters whose eligibility or identification required verification on Election Day.

Colom drew heavy support in Hinds County, home to the capital of Jackson, winning 80 percent of the vote in the heavily Black county, according to CNBC.

The outcome also reflected economic frustration among some conservative voters who had previously supported the Republican presidential administration.

"Trump and his administration did not hold up what they ran on. Bottom line," said Keith Scott, a voter in Lincoln County who previously supported Trump.

Tensions between the candidates dated back to 2023, when Hyde-Smith blocked President Joe Biden's nomination of Colom to serve as a federal district judge in northern Mississippi.

With Mississippi resolved, Alaska remains the only state with an uncalled U.S. Senate race, where Democratic nominee Mary Peltola held a lead over incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan as remaining votes were processed.