The key facts

  • Scott Colom, 43, a district attorney, defeated Cindy Hyde-Smith by a margin of 4,585 votes (49.2% to 48.7%) with about 99% of votes counted
  • Colom is the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction (after Blanche Bruce, whose term ended in 1881) and the first Democrat from the state since 1982
  • Democrats won 55 Senate seats to the Republicans' 44; only the result in Alaska remains undecided

A Sensational Victory After a Week of Counting

Democrat Scott Colom defeated incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in the US Senate election in Mississippi. The networks CNN, NBC and CBS called the result on Wednesday, eight days after Election Day on November 3: the ballot count took so long that at certain moments Colom's lead was only a few dozen votes. With about 99% of votes counted, he led his rival by 4,585 votes — 49.2% to 48.7%. The state has no law requiring a recount in a close result. Hyde-Smith conceded, posting a video on the social network X and calling Colom.

The Historical Significance of the Result

The 43-year-old district attorney Colom will become the third Black senator in Mississippi's history and the first in more than 140 years: before him, the post was held by Hiram Revels (1870–1871), the first Black senator in US history, and Blanche Bruce (1875–1881), who was born into slavery and became the first Black person to serve a full term in the Senate. Colom will also be the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982, when John Stennis won. According to the BBC, the mobilization of young people and the state's large Black population played a significant role in the victory.

Context: The Democrats' Victory in the Midterm Elections

The result in Mississippi was one of the most unexpected outcomes of the midterm elections, in which the Democrats regained majorities in both chambers of Congress. In the Senate they won 55 seats to the Republicans' 44; only the outcome of the race in Alaska remains undecided. In total, the Democrats took eight Senate seats from the Republicans, including in South Carolina, North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and Maine. In the House of Representatives they won 41 seats and lead 254 to 168, with 13 races still uncalled. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, after the results were announced, wrote on X: 'Blue Mississippi has arrived.' According to euronews, the wave was supported by discontent with Trump's harsh immigration policy, the war in Iran, and the rising cost of living; the victory in Mississippi itself, in the outlet's view, strengthens the argument of some Democrats that the party's future runs through the American South.

The Campaign and the Concession

Hyde-Smith, 67, elected in 2018, had consistently led in the polls in a state that Donald Trump won in 2024 by a margin of nearly 23 points; at the end of the campaign Trump personally traveled to Mississippi to support her. In an October interview with Reuters, Colom said that the state's voters feel 'betrayed' by Trump's policies, including the war in Iran, which drove up fuel prices. In his campaign he bet on the 'long, grassroots path': town hall meetings, visits to public housing, festivals and food trucks; in October he was endorsed by Democratic senators Raphael Warnock and Cory Booker. In his victory speech in Jackson, Colom recalled the state's tradition of Black activism and words about 'the power of prayer.' In 2023, Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's nomination by President Joe Biden to be a federal district judge in northern Mississippi, citing his position on transgender issues; at the time, his nomination was supported by the state's second senator, Republican Roger Wicker.