Colom wins Mississippi Senate seat by fewer than 5,000 votes
The narrow margin held the result in suspense for over a week until local officials finished processing thousands of absentee and provisional ballots.
By Jasmine Carter ·
Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by a margin of fewer than 5,000 votes to claim the open Senate seat in Mississippi. The Associated Press called the race Wednesday, more than a week after the midterm elections. The delay occurred while local election officials processed thousands of absentee and provisional ballots.
With 99% of ballots counted, the gap remained tight enough to keep the result in suspense. Colom’s victory marks a historic shift for the state. He will be Mississippi’s first Black U.S. senator since 1881. He is also the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate in nearly 40 years, following the 1989 retirement of John C. Stennis.
Colom addressed supporters at a victory party at Tougaloo College in Jackson on Wednesday night. He acknowledged the difficulty of the campaign’s final stretch. “There were times when I was tired and I felt like I couldn’t keep going, but I kept the faith,” he said. He added that he had the courage to believe in Mississippi and to show the country that the state matters.
Hyde-Smith, a Trump ally, had been running for her second full term. She was first appointed to fill a vacancy and later won a special election in 2018. She released a video on Wednesday night to concede the race. “While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” she said. She wished Colom well as he takes on the responsibility of representing the state.
The result expands the Democratic majority in the Senate to 55-44. Eight seats changed hands in this cycle. The Senate race in Alaska remains uncalled. When the 120th Congress is sworn in on January 3, seven Black senators will be serving. Only 14 Black senators have ever been elected or appointed in U.S. history.
