Democrat Scott Colom has defeated Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s closely contested US Senate race, becoming the state’s first Black senator since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. His narrow victory marks a significant political shift in a state that has been dominated by white conservatives for generations.
The Associated Press called the contest in Colom’s favour on Wednesday after election officials completed several days of counting absentee and provisional ballots, known in Mississippi as affidavit ballots. Hyde-Smith conceded defeat in a video message, acknowledging the result and congratulating her Democratic rival.
“While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” she said. “I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state.” A spokesman for the Republican senator said she had called Colom to congratulate him and concede before the video was made public.
Who is Scott Colom, Mississippi’s first Black senator since Reconstruction?
Colom, 43, is a local prosecutor who built his campaign around economic concerns, voter representation and the need for a political voice that listens to people across Mississippi. His victory is particularly significant given the state’s political and racial history. Mississippi has the largest share of Black voters of any US state, but its politics have remained largely dominated by Republicans in recent decades.
The last time Mississippi elected a Democratic senator was in 1947. The winner was a staunch segregationist. Colom said during his campaign that he wanted to represent all communities in the state, including rural, suburban and urban voters. “They actually deserve a senator that will listen to them, that actually cares about what they think, actually cares about what they’re going through,” he said during the campaign’s closing stretch. His victory also comes after several years of political efforts by Black Democratic leaders and strategists to make Mississippi competitive for the party.
How did Scott Colom defeat Cindy Hyde-Smith?
Colom’s campaign capitalised on Mississippi’s large Black population, concerns about the economy and a series of political missteps by Hyde-Smith as she sought a second full term. The Democratic candidate also attracted attention for his campaign advertisements. After Hyde-Smith appeared to brush aside concerns about high beef prices by suggesting consumers could choose other proteins, Colom released an advertisement showing voters saying they would “pick another senator instead”. He also criticised policies pursued by President Donald Trump, particularly the Iran war and tariffs, which he argued were hurting Mississippi farmers.
However, Colom largely avoided personal attacks on Trump and focused his criticism on Hyde-Smith, portraying her as an ineffective representative in Washington. During Trump’s campaign rally in Corinth, Mississippi, in late October, Colom walked along the line of supporters waiting outside the venue. He introduced himself, spoke to voters and discussed his priorities. Hyde-Smith, meanwhile, praised Trump at the rally, calling him “the best president in our lifetime”. Colom’s approach appeared to resonate with voters as the state moved towards the Democratic candidate.
Why was the Mississippi Senate race considered a surprise?
The contest had initially been viewed by many in Washington as a long shot for Democrats. However, Colom’s campaign gradually attracted national attention and financial support as the party widened its Senate battleground map. Democratic leaders, including Senate leader Chuck Schumer, supported his campaign. Black Democratic senators Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland had also urged party leaders and donors to take the race seriously.
Former President Bill Clinton campaigned with Colom days before the election, while former Vice President Kamala Harris also backed his bid during the campaign’s closing weeks. Clinton congratulated Colom after his victory, saying he had won because he believed in the promise of Mississippi’s people and that they believed in him in return. Schumer described Colom’s campaign as one that had reimagined what was possible for Democrats in the South. The result also adds to a wider midterm setback for Trump’s Republican Party, which suffered defeats in several Republican-controlled states.
Colom’s victory and Mississippi’s civil rights history
Colom’s campaign also drew attention to Mississippi’s civil rights history. In one of his closing advertisements, he appeared at the Jackson home of Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader who was assassinated outside his home in 1963. Evers had worked to register Black voters in Mississippi and was killed for his civil rights activism. Colom used his story to encourage voters to exercise their democratic rights. “In Mississippi, no one is above the law, and no one should be outside its protection,” he said in the advertisement. He also urged voters to honour those who had fought and died for the right to vote.
Colom’s victory carries particular significance because of the state’s history of racial segregation and its long struggle over voting rights. He said, however, that he viewed his achievement not only in terms of his own political journey but also in terms of the opportunities it could create for younger generations. “My job is to do well enough as the next United States senator that the next time some young black boy or girl has the work ethic, the vision, and the values, and they want to be United States senator, that nobody says because of anything I’ve done that they shouldn’t get a chance,” he said.
What does the result mean for Democrats in the South?
Colom’s win is likely to strengthen arguments within the Democratic Party that the American South could offer new electoral opportunities, particularly in states with significant Black populations. Mississippi has consistently voted Republican in presidential elections. Trump won the state by nearly 23 percentage points in 2024. However, the state’s political contests have shown signs of becoming more competitive, with Republican Governor Tate Reeves winning re-election in 2023 by a margin of just three percentage points.
Results from the Senate race showed strong turnout in the Mississippi Delta, which has a concentration of majority-Black counties. The state also moved towards Democrats compared with the 2024 presidential election. Hyde-Smith was first appointed to the Senate in 2018 by then-Governor Phil Bryant after Republican Senator Thad Cochran resigned. She won a special election runoff later that year and secured a full term in 2020, defeating Democrat Mike Espy on both occasions.
Espy was Mississippi’s first Black congressman since Reconstruction. Colom’s victory now marks another historic moment for the state, ending a long period without a Black senator representing Mississippi in the US Senate.
(Inputs: Associated Press)
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