Democrat Scott Colom won the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi on Wednesday, defeating incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and becoming the first Black senator elected by the state’s voters since the Reconstruction era.
A Historic Margin in Mississippi
The race remained uncalled for more than a week as officials processed thousands of affidavit ballots. According to a race call by The Associated Press on Wednesday evening, Colom secured 49.2 percent of the vote compared to 48.7 percent for Hyde-Smith. The final margin separated the candidates by roughly 4,700 votes out of a significant number of ballots cast.
Colom’s victory marks the first time Mississippi has sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1982. The result contributes to a broader Democratic shift in the Senate, where the party has now secured 55 seats.
Colom, 43, rode a wave of national attention and resentment toward Republicans to secure his win. His victory followed high turnout in the Mississippi Delta, where he gained a 38,000-vote advantage across 16 counties, increasing the margin over previous Democratic efforts.
Shortly before the election, Colom had raised about $3.6m, compared with Hyde-Smith’s $5.3m, which included a donation from the pro-Israel lobbying group Aipac. It was not until the final month that national figures like Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Cory Booker campaigned in the state.
Colom Focuses on Accountability While Hyde-Smith Faces Criticism
Colom, who has served as the district attorney for the 16th judicial district since 2016, centered his campaign on government accountability and economic issues. In a widely circulated ad, Colom stood in the driveway of the former home of Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader assassinated in 1963. Holding T-shirts labeled Jim Crow Must Go, Colom stated, He was killed for helping Mississippians vote.
Medgar Evers was killed in his driveway because he refused to accept a Mississippi where some were denied the right to vote. He stood with thousands who marched, organized and sacrificed so future generations could have a voice. We owe it to them not to take that right for… pic.twitter.com/nEHTihVoIm
The incumbent, Hyde-Smith, a cattle farmer who has been in the Senate since 2018, faced criticism for a lack of public appearances and was assailed by her campaign for being a puppet of billionaire donor George Soros.
A viral moment occurred when Hyde-Smith, answering a reporter’s question about the rising price of beef, suggested voters pick another protein. Colom’s response in his own ad—Shhiiiiii – I’d rather pick another senator instead—became a defining moment of the race.
Colom also found success in areas that historically lean Republican. He won Forrest County, named for the Ku Klux Klan’s first grand wizard, with 12,064 votes to 9,749, and Jefferson Davis County, named for the president of the Confederacy, with 2,943 votes to 1,534. He also performed well in the Delta, where poverty remains a systemic issue; in Washington County, for instance, 29.4% of the population remains in poverty.
Challenges During the Ballot Count
The final days of the count were marked by tension in Hinds County, where lawyers for the Hyde-Smith campaign raised objections to the processing of affidavit ballots.
The Colom campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued letters warning officials that the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s requests had no basis in Mississippi law and would violate voters’ rights. Secretary of State Michael Watson said that counties had until November 13 to upload results, with thousands of affidavit and absentee ballots remaining in the balance.
Concession and Future Service
Hyde-Smith conceded on Wednesday night, stating she respected the decision of Mississippi voters.
This followed her earlier election-night confidence, where she told supporters, “I blocked Scott Colom from being a federal judge, and you blocked him from being U.S. senator.” Colom, who had been nominated for a federal judgeship by President Joe Biden in 2023 only to be blocked by Hyde-Smith using the blue slip tradition, will now serve in the body that once denied him that seat.
“Go out to talk to some Mississippians – they're very proud of this moment,” Scott Colom told reporters.
“I'm glad that the media is getting an opportunity to see our state,” Scott Colom told reporters.
Reflecting on the historic nature of his win, Colom noted his connection to the state’s past, including Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first Black U.S. senator, who also hailed from Mississippi. God didn’t want us to get it the easy way, Colom said of his campaign. He wanted us to get it the Mississippi way.
Earlier coverage: Democrat Wins Mississippi Senate Seat in Historic Red State Shift
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