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Democrat Scott Colom wins historic Mississippi Senate seat

Summarised from 14 outlets · 18 reports · Updated 12 Nov, 00:08 · Archive

Democrat Scott Colom has defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's closely contested Senate race.

Democrat Scott Colom has won Mississippi's Senate race, defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith after a prolonged ballot-counting process. Multiple outlets projected Colom's victory on Wednesday, more than a week after election day. The race was extraordinarily close, with Colom receiving 49.2 per cent of the vote to Hyde-Smith's 48.7 per cent, separating the candidates by fewer than 5,000 votes.

Colom, 43, is a district attorney for Mississippi's 16th Judicial District and a seventh-generation Mississippian. His victory makes him the first Black senator elected from Mississippi since the Reconstruction era, more than 140 years ago. It also marks the first time Mississippi has elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982, when John Stennis was elected. The last Black senator from Mississippi, Blanche K Bruce, was born into slavery and served one term after the Civil War.

The Mississippi race was not expected to be competitive. President Trump won the state by more than 22 points in the 2024 election, and Republicans had held the seat for decades. However, national Democrats invested in advertising in the final weeks of the campaign, and the Cook Political Report changed its rating from solidly Republican to leaning Republican. On election night, Colom opened up a narrow lead over Hyde-Smith that widened as election officials counted provisional ballots and affidavit ballots cast by voters who lacked identification or had inactive registrations.

Colom campaigned on cost-of-living and healthcare issues, arguing that Hyde-Smith had failed to deliver for Mississippi. He received support from former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who stumped for him on the campaign trail. According to The Guardian, Colom engaged voters directly through unconventional methods, including driving a truck offering free tacos branded with his 'pick another protein' slogan and attending college homecomings and Trump rallies to meet constituents. His campaign also produced viral advertisements, including one spoofing an exchange about rising beef prices.

Hyde-Smith, 67, was first appointed to the Senate in 2018 and was the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Congress. She was re-elected in 2020 by a comfortable 10-point margin. President Trump campaigned with Hyde-Smith before election day, and the Senate Leadership Fund, a political action committee closely tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, spent seven figures on advertising on her behalf. However, these efforts were insufficient to overcome Colom's momentum.

During the counting process, Hyde-Smith initially appeared confident of victory but did not appear publicly for several days after election day. A spokesperson confirmed that Hyde-Smith called Colom to concede after the race was called. Colom's victory extends Democrats' gains in the midterm elections, delivering the party an eighth flipped Senate seat and bringing their total to 55 seats. A Senate race in Alaska remains undecided. Democrats also won control of the House of Representatives, gaining 41 seats and holding a 254-to-168 advantage with 13 races yet to be called.

Democrat Scott Colom wins historic Mississippi Senate seat
Image: Financial Times

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In this story: Scott Colom · Cindy Hyde-Smith · Mississippi · Bill Clinton · Kamala Harris · Donald Trump · Democratic Party · Republican Party

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log