Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Seat, First Black Senator Since Reconstruction
Democrat Scott Colom, a district attorney, defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's 2026 Senate race, according to an Associated Press race call made more than a week after election day. Colom led by roughly 4,500 to 5,000 votes, or about 0.5 percentage points. His victory makes him Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction and the state's first Democratic senator since 1982. Colom campaigned on affordability, healthcare, rural hospitals and bipartisanship, and Hyde-Smith conceded and congratulated him.
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Scott Colom Defies Odds to Win Mississippi Senate Seat in Historic Upset
Scott Colom, a district attorney from Columbus, Mississippi, narrowly defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in the 2026 midterm elections, according to an Associated Press race call. Colom won by fewer than 5,000 votes, flipping traditionally Republican counties like Forrest County while sweeping Democratic-leaning areas such as Hinds County. He ran on accessible healthcare, saving rural hospitals, and affordability, emphasizing bipartisanship. His victory makes him Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction and the state's first Democratic senator since 1982. Colom credited his win to grassroots campaigning and voter turnout rather than national Democratic support, which arrived late. Hyde-Smith had previously blocked his federal judicial nomination in 2023, citing donations from George Soros and his stance on transgender issues. Colom said his goal is to make it easier for the next African American senator to be judged by character rather than skin color.
Read sourceBlack Democrat Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Seat in Historic Upset
Democrat Scott Colom has won the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi, becoming the first Black senator from the deeply conservative state since 1888 and the first Democrat to win a Senate election there in 44 years. According to multiple U.S. media reports confirmed Wednesday evening, Colom defeated incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by a razor-thin margin of just over 4,600 votes, or about 0.5 percentage points. The 43-year-old prosecutor focused his campaign on affordability and won strong support from Mississippi's Black electorate, the highest share of Black voters in the country. General dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump's administration and difficult economic conditions also contributed to his victory. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer, who recruited Colom and helped him raise funds, praised the campaign as redefining what is possible for Democrats in the South. Hyde-Smith conceded and congratulated Colom. New senators will be sworn in during the first week of January.
Read sourceDemocrat Wins Mississippi Senate Seat for First Time Since 1982
Democrat Scott Colom has won a U.S. Senate election in Mississippi, according to German outlet WELT, marking the first Democratic Senate victory in the southern state in more than four decades. The report states that Colom, an attorney, narrowly defeated Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith. The article provides no further details on the vote margin, turnout, or national implications. The result, if confirmed, would represent a notable political shift in a state long dominated by Republicans in federal elections.
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Democrat Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate race in historic victory
Democrat Scott Colom, a local district attorney, has officially won a seat in the U.S. Senate in Mississippi, according to the Associated Press. The victory is described as breathtaking and is seen as solidifying the Democrats' ascendance in Washington and signaling the potential for a political realignment in the South. The win has drawn national attention, with celebrations reported in the streets and analysis of how Colom succeeded in a deep-red state with limited help from national Democrats.
Read sourceDemocrat Scott Colom wins historic Mississippi Senate seat, ousting Cindy Hyde-Smith
Democrat Scott Colom has defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the Mississippi Senate race, according to headlines aggregated by Google News from Axios, BBC, The New York Times, CNN and Yahoo. Multiple outlets described the result as historic, with CNN reporting that Colom defied more than a century of history to win the seat for Democrats and Yahoo framing the victory as one that changes the political playbook. The aggregated item provides only headlines and outlet attributions, not detailed vote counts, margins or reactions. The outcome marks a Senate flip in Mississippi, a state where such a Democratic win had not occurred in over a century according to the cited coverage.
Democrat Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate race in surprise upset
Democrat Scott Colom has won the US Senate race in Mississippi, defeating incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith by only a few thousand votes in a state Donald Trump carried by more than 22 points in 2024. The race was not called until more than a week after election day as officials counted every ballot arriving before the deadline. Colom becomes the first black person from Mississippi elected to the US Senate in more than 140 years and the first Democratic senator elected in the state since 1982. The result brings the Democratic Senate majority to 55 seats, with Alaska still to be called. Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in these midterms, taking Senate seats in Republican strongholds including Texas, South Carolina and Kansas; polls suggest voter frustration with the economy and the Iran war under President Trump was a major factor.
Read sourceDemocrat Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Race, Defeating Cindy Hyde-Smith
Democrat Scott Colom has won election to the U.S. Senate in Mississippi, according to a race call by the Associated Press, narrowly defeating Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith after more than a week of counting absentee and provisional ballots. Colom won the country's closest Senate race by just a few thousand votes. The victory, part of a midterm cycle with several upsets for Democrats, reflects a shift in the South driven by surging Black voter turnout; Mississippi has the highest share of Black voters nationally at close to 40%, and Colom would be the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction and its first Democratic senator in over 40 years. A district attorney, Colom centered his campaign on cost of living, attacking "Cindy High-Prices," while Hyde-Smith had a minimal campaign presence. National money and attention arrived only in the final days, including a Trump rally and visits from Kamala Harris and Raphael Warnock; Cook Political Report had rated the race Likely Republican.
Read sourceDemocrat Scott Colom Flips Mississippi Senate Seat in Major Upset
Democrat Scott Colom defeated incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi with 49.19 percent of the vote, CNN projected more than a week after the election, leading by over 4,500 votes. Colom becomes the first Democratic senator in Mississippi in 37 years and the first Black senator in the state since Reconstruction. The article attributes his win partly to a viral Hyde-Smith soundbite about picking another protein, which Colom used in attack ads. It notes Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's 2023 federal judicial nomination via the blue slip process, citing his support for trans rights and an unverified claim of George Soros funding. Colom campaigned on raising the minimum wage, expanding Medicaid, supporting farmers, and addressing the rural hospital crisis. The piece also reports that many eligible Mississippi voters were wrongly removed from rolls due to unverified Experian data, creating a backlog of affidavit ballots.
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