Upset in Mississippi: Democrat Scott Colom Defeats Republican Senator

In depth

Democratic candidate Scott Colom unseated incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi, after an eight-day count. The victory was projected early by CNN, and in a particularly close race, the candidates were separated by only a few votes. Hyde-Smith was the incumbent in a seat that until now had been held by Republicans.

Colom, 43, is a district attorney, and he will be the first Black senator to represent Mississippi since 1875. He is the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate since 1982. His victory increases the Democratic majority in the Senate to 55 seats.

Colom's victory is considered an upset in a state where Trump won by about 23 percentage points, and it joins records Democrats broke in Texas, Kansas and South Carolina. Democrats brought Black voters to the polls in large numbers, and Colom also received support in white suburbs. In the Senate election in the past, Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's appointment as a federal judge in 2023.