Democrat Scott Colom has won Mississippi’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the chamber since 1982, Al Jazeera reported Wednesday.

Colom, a prosecutor, will become Mississippi’s first Black senator in more than 140 years. His victory adds to a string of Democratic gains in the midterm elections, with the party winning at least eight seats currently held by Republicans, according to the report. The Senate race in Alaska remained uncalled.

The Mississippi result followed more than a week of uncertainty as election officials counted more than 100,000 mail-in ballots. Thousands of voters also cast provisional ballots because they could not confirm their registration at polling sites. Those ballots required officials to verify the voters’ eligibility.

The candidates took different public approaches while the count continued. Hyde-Smith expressed confidence that she would prevail after “every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted,” Al Jazeera reported. She was not seen publicly until returning to Washington this week as the Senate resumed its session.

Colom continued holding public events and challenging his opponent to explain how she could win. Speaking to reporters Friday in Jackson, he asked: “Where is Cindy Hyde-Smith?”

The contest also followed an earlier clash over Colom’s career. In 2023, Hyde-Smith blocked his nomination to a federal judgeship by then-president Joe Biden, citing concerns about Colom’s position on transgender athletes. The appointment required Senate approval.

Colom’s Senate victory came in a state President Donald Trump carried by just over 22 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election. Mississippi’s last Democratic Senate winner was John Stennis, who defeated Republican challenger Haley Barbour in 1982. Barbour later became governor.

Colom has advocated raising the minimum wage, strengthening protections for rural hospitals and ending the U.S. war in Iran. He is due to be sworn in next January and, according to Al Jazeera, will be the Senate’s seventh Black lawmaker.

Sources