Key takeaways:
- Colom is Mississippi’s first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction and its first Democratic Senate winner since 1982.
- The Associated Press called the race November 11, more than a week after Election Day; NPR reported that Colom won by a few thousand votes.
- The victory is Democrats’ eighth Senate pickup, leaving the party with at least 55 seats, according to NBC News, while Alaska remains undecided.
Democrat Scott Colom has narrowly defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, becoming the state’s first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction and ending a 44-year stretch without a Democratic Senate victory.
The Associated Press called the race on Wednesday, November 11, more than a week after Election Day, Talking Points Memo reported. Colom, a district attorney, won by just a few thousand votes after officials counted outstanding absentee and provisional ballots, according to NPR. He had held a narrow lead since election night.
Colom’s victory is the eighth Democratic pickup of a Republican-held Senate seat in this year’s midterms. Democrats will hold at least 55 seats in the next Senate, NBC News reported, with the Alaska race still undecided.
Mississippi was a difficult target for Democrats. President Donald Trump carried the state by about 23 points in 2024, and the Cook Political Report rated the Senate race Likely Republican heading into election night. Mississippi last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1982; its last Black senator was elected in 1875.
Colom argued that his party had neglected a state where Black voters make up close to 40% of the electorate. “The reality is, Mississippi has never been a lost cause, we’ve been a betrayed cause,” he told NPR. “The Democratic Party has not been trying to win Mississippi.”
Colom made the cost of living a centerpiece of his campaign, NPR reported. He called Hyde-Smith “Cindy High Prices” and criticized her support for Trump administration tariffs and legislation that cut Medicaid funds, according to NBC News. Hyde-Smith campaigned as a reliable conservative, touted her loyalty to Trump, who endorsed her, and sought to portray Colom as radical, NBC News reported.
A video from Colom’s campaign seized on Hyde-Smith’s response to a question about expensive beef. “You have so many other proteins to choose from,” she said. The ad featured voters rejecting the suggestion to “pick another protein” and calling instead for another senator.
Both parties devoted more attention to the race in its final weeks. Trump rallied for Hyde-Smith, while former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sens. Cory Booker and Raphael Warnock campaigned for Colom. Former President Barack Obama appeared in a Colom campaign ad. According to NBC News, the Democratic Senate Majority PAC spent nearly $2.1 million on advertising, and a Republican super PAC responded with a similar-sized buy.
The candidates had clashed before. Hyde-Smith blocked Colom’s nomination to a federal judgeship during President Joe Biden’s administration. Colom recently told NBC News that he had forgiven her.
As the count continued, both candidates publicly expressed confidence. Hyde-Smith said her team expected a win once “every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted.” Colom continued appearing at public events and pressed her to explain how she could overcome his lead. The remaining ballots did not change the outcome.
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