Democrat Scott Colom won the U.S. Senate seat in Mississippi by a narrow margin, according to a CNN projection reported on Wednesday.
Voters went to the polls on November 3, but the count dragged on for over a week as election officials processed ballots.
Colom defeats the incumbent Republican senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, according to [vg.no]. This outcome makes Colom the first Democrat to represent Mississippi in the Senate in over 40 years.
The result marks a major upset in a deep-red state. President Donald Trump won Mississippi by nearly 23 percentage points in the 2024 election and endorsed Hyde-Smith ahead of the race, [vg.no] reported.
Colom also becomes the first Black person elected to a statewide office in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War, [Aftenposten] reported. Nearly 40 percent of the state’s residents are Black, the highest proportion in any U.S. state.
Colom Leads by 3,000 Votes as Certification Deadline Nears
The race proved to be one of the tightest contests of the midterm cycle. By Wednesday afternoon, Colom led by roughly 3,000 votes with about 98 percent of ballots counted, [Nettavisen] reported.
State counties face a Friday deadline to formally certify their election results. In a statement released through the Mississippi Free Press and cited by [Aftenposten], Colom called on his opponent to concede the race.
“En Cindy Hyde-Smith-seier nå er en matematisk umulighet,” Scott Colom said in the announcement.
One video featured a visit to the home of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers, while another addressed inflation by mocking Hyde-Smith’s past advice to consumers facing high beef prices.
“Blå Mississippi er her. Scott Colom er den eneste som kunne ha klart dette,” Chuck Schumer wrote on X after the CNN projection, as noted by [vg.no].
Democratic Gains Nationwide
In Texas, the party won both the gubernatorial race and a Senate contest while capturing control of the state’s House of Representatives for the first time since 2003, according to [vg.no].
Following the Mississippi result, Democrats hold at least 55 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate, including two independent senators who caucus with the party, [Nettavisen] reported. Control of the Alaska Senate seat remains uncalled, with Democrat Mary Peltola leading incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan by roughly 4,250 votes ahead of a ranked-choice tabulation round starting on November 18, 2026.
Questions About the Mississippi Vote Count
When was the Mississippi Senate election held?
Voters cast their ballots on November 3, 2026, though the tabulation process extended for over a week before CNN issued its projection on November 11, 2026, according to [vg.no].
What is the deadline for county certification in Mississippi?
Individual counties across the state have until Friday to formally approve and certify their final local election numbers, [Aftenposten] reported.
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