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Politics

Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Seat, Becoming State’s First Black Senator Since Reconstruction

Democrat Scott Colom narrowly defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, becoming the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction and the first Democrat it has sent to the Senate since 1982.

By admin Nov. 12, 2026 · 1:42 AM ET 3 min read

The Mississippi State Capitol building in Jackson, Mississippi, with its domed roof and columns, seen from the front lawn on a clear autumn day.
The Mississippi State Capitol building in Jackson, Mississippi, with its domed roof and columns, seen from the front lawn on a clear autumn day.

Democrat Scott Colom has won the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi, defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the closest Senate contest in the country, according to a race call by the Associated Press on Wednesday evening.

Colom, 43, a district attorney from Columbus, will be the first Democrat Mississippi has sent to the Senate since 1982 and the first Black senator from the state since Blanche K. Bruce left office in 1881. With 99 percent of the vote counted, Colom led Hyde-Smith 49.2 percent to 48.7 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Voters standing at privacy booths inside a polling place, seen from behind, with an American flag hanging on the wall.
Voters standing at privacy booths inside a polling place, seen from behind, with an American flag hanging on the wall.

The win is the eighth Senate seat Democrats have taken from Republicans in this year’s midterm elections, giving the party a minimum 55-seat majority in the next Congress, with the race in Alaska still undecided, according to USA Today.

Hyde-Smith conceded in a video posted to social media shortly after the AP call. “While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” she said. “I congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state.”

A win in a state Trump carried by 23 points

Colom spoke to supporters at Tougaloo College, a historically Black college in Jackson, on Wednesday night. “For months and months, I’ve been telling everybody, everywhere I go, that we’re going to win this election,” he said. “Because it’s not something that I did, y’all. It’s something that we did.”

A downtown street in Jackson, Mississippi, with brick storefronts, parked cars and trees along the sidewalk on a sunny day.
A downtown street in Jackson, Mississippi, with brick storefronts, parked cars and trees along the sidewalk on a sunny day.

Mississippi has the largest share of Black voters of any state, at close to 40 percent, according to NPR. Black voters made up just under one-third of the electorate in this race and backed Colom 97 percent to 2 percent, according to a survey of midterm voters by SSRS cited by The Wall Street Journal.

Colom, a seventh-generation Mississippian, built his campaign around the cost of living and health care, repeating the slogan “lower costs, higher wages, save our health care, save our hospitals” at events across the state. He called Hyde-Smith “Cindy High Prices,” saying her support for President Donald Trump’s economic policies had raised costs for Mississippians.

The result came in a state Trump won by more than 23 points in 2024. The Cook Political Report rated the race Likely Republican going into election night, and Hyde-Smith had been favored to win. Colom flipped at least 18 counties that voted for Trump in 2024, according to the USA TODAY Network, including some that had not elected a Democratic senator since the 1980s.

An old rivalry, and a late surge of national attention

The two candidates had faced off before. In 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Colom, then a district attorney, to serve as a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Mississippi. Hyde-Smith blocked the nomination by withholding a “blue slip,” the document a home-state senator must submit for a judicial nominee to advance. She said she objected to Colom’s record, including his position on transgender rights.

The United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C., seen from the west front across a green lawn on a clear day.
The United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C., seen from the west front across a green lawn on a clear day.

National attention arrived late. The race stayed uncalled for more than a week as absentee and provisional ballots were counted; Colom had led Hyde-Smith by 1,813 votes as the count went on. Trump flew to Mississippi in the final week to rally for Hyde-Smith, while former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock campaigned for Colom. National Democrats put money into the race in its closing days after seeing an opening, according to USA Today.

State officials said final certified totals are not expected until Friday at 5 p.m., according to the Clarion Ledger.

Reporting based on coverage by the Associated Press, USA Today, NPR and The Wall Street Journal.

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