In a state that has leaned Republican for a generation, a prosecutor named Scott Colom has taken a Senate seat that many had considered settled, after a count that stretched more than a week and left the outcome in suspense. His victory marks a rare turn in Mississippi's political story, where the last Democrat to hold this seat was elected more than four decades ago. It also reflects a wider shift in an election year that favored Democrats, and it will shape how power is divided in Washington when the new Congress convenes.
Democrat Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Race, Flipping a Long-Held Republican Seat
She doesn't have one.
Mark
Start with the headline fact. Why does a Mississippi Senate seat matter this much?
Mimi
Because the state hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate since John Stennis in 1982, and Trump carried it by just over 22 points in 2024. Colom also becomes the first Black senator from Mississippi in more than 140 years.
Mark
And it took over a week to know.
Mimi
Yes. Officials had more than 100,000 mail-in ballots to count, plus provisional ballots from people who couldn't confirm their registration at the polls. Each of those needed an eligibility check.
Luke
Worth saying the source calls it a narrow win but gives no vote margin or final tally. We know the direction, not the size.
Mark
What about the campaign dynamic after election day?
Mimi
Hyde-Smith stayed out of public view until she went back to Washington for the Senate's reconvening. Her team put out a statement saying every legally cast vote should be counted. Colom held events and pressed on where she was.
Luke
Colom's line that she had no path to victory is his own claim, made while counting was still going. The result later bore him out, but at the time it was rhetoric.
Mark
There's also a history between them.
Mimi
In 2023 Hyde-Smith blocked his nomination to a federal judgeship, citing his position on transgender athletes. Now he's taking her seat.
Luke
One thing we can't say from this reporting is why voters shifted. The source gives the result and the backdrop, a broader Democratic midterm win with at least eight flipped seats, but not the reasons in Mississippi.
Mark
And what's still open?
Mimi
Alaska remains undecided. Colom is sworn in next January.
El Pulso
- A razor-thin margin held the country's attention for over a week as more than 100,000 mail-in and provisional ballots were checked one by one.
- Incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith went quiet in the days after the vote, leaving her allies to say she was confident of victory once every ballot was counted.
- Colom pressed the attack from Jackson, demanding that his opponent explain her path to victory and answer voters directly.
- The result upends a state Trump carried by about 22 points, and Colom will be sworn in next January as part of a record seven Black senators.
In a state that has leaned Republican for a generation, a prosecutor named Scott Colom has taken a Senate seat that many had considered settled, after a count that stretched more than a week and left the outcome in suspense. His victory marks a rare turn in Mississippi's political story, where the last Democrat to hold this seat was elected more than four decades ago. It also reflects a wider shift in an election year that favored Democrats, and it will shape how power is divided in Washington when the new Congress convenes.
Scott Colom, a Democrat and prosecutor, has won Mississippi's Senate race, defeating incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith in one of the most surprising results of this year's midterms. The call came on Wednesday, more than a week after voters went to the polls on November 3. He will be the first Black senator from Mississippi in over 140 years.
The wait was a product of the count itself. Election officials worked through more than 100,000 mail-in ballots, and thousands of residents who could not confirm their registration at the polls cast provisional ballots that had to be verified before they could count. For more than a week, the race was too close to call.
The two candidates handled that uncertainty differently. Hyde-Smith stayed out of public view until she returned to Washington for the Senate's reconvening, offering only a statement expressing confidence in the final count. Colom was everywhere the cameras were, criticizing her silence and asking where she was. Speaking in Jackson, he said voters deserved answers about how she had won, or in his words, that she did not have a path to victory.
The two had clashed before. In 2023, Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's nomination to a federal judgeship, citing his position on transgender athletes. Now he holds the seat she once held, in a state Trump won by roughly 22 points. He will take office next January.
Scott Colom, a Democrat and a prosecutor, has won Mississippi's United States Senate race. He narrowly defeated the incumbent Republican, Cindy Hyde-Smith, in one of the biggest upsets of this year's midterm elections. The result was called on Wednesday, more than a week after voters went to the polls on November 3. Colom will become the first Black senator from Mississippi in more than 140 years.
The delay came from the count itself. Election officials worked through more than 100,000 mail-in ballots. Thousands of other residents could not confirm their registration at their voting sites and cast provisional ballots, which had to be checked for eligibility before they could be counted. For more than a week the contest was too close to call.
The two candidates spent that stretch in very different ways. Hyde-Smith was not seen publicly until she returned to Washington this week for the Senate's reconvening. Through a statement, she and her team said they were confident she would win once every legally cast vote was fully and accurately counted.
Colom stayed in front of cameras. After the election he held a series of events at which he criticized his opponent's silence. Speaking to reporters in Jackson on Friday, he said the senator needed to speak out, asking where she was. He said voters wanted to hear from her and that she should answer questions about her path to victory. In his words, she did not have one.
The two had crossed paths before. In 2023, former President Joe Biden nominated Colom to serve as a federal judge, a post that required Senate approval. Hyde-Smith blocked the nomination, citing concerns about Colom's position on transgender athletes.
The result upends expectations in a state Donald Trump carried by just over 22 points in the 2024 presidential election. The last Democrat to win a Senate race in Mississippi was John Stennis in 1982, when he beat Republican challenger Haley Barbour, who later became the state's governor.
Colom's victory flips an eighth Senate seat for Democrats, who delivered a heavy defeat to Republicans in the November 3 midterms. A Senate race in Alaska remains undecided. Colom has advocated raising the minimum wage, increasing protections for rural hospitals and ending the US-Israel war on Iran.
He will be sworn in next January. When the 120th Congress convenes, it will include a record seven Black senators, and the one remaining Senate race, in Alaska, will help determine the final shape of the new majority.
Citas Notables
Where is Cindy Hyde-Smith? We want to hear from her. She needs to answer questions. What is her path to victory? She doesn't have one.— Scott Colom, speaking to reporters in Jackson, Mississippi
She expressed confidence of winning once every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted.— Cindy Hyde-Smith campaign statement (paraphrased)
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