Democrat Scott Colom has won Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race, unseating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith after a count that stretched more than a week past Election Day. The Associated Press projected Colom’s victory on Wednesday, and Hyde-Smith conceded the contest the same evening.
The result makes Colom, 43, the first Black senator elected from Mississippi since the Reconstruction era and the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since 1982. It also delivers another midterm setback to President Donald Trump and his party, which has now lost a series of statewide contests.
- Key Point: Colom led Hyde-Smith by 4,404 votes as of Wednesday, according to the Associated Press, after Hinds County counted hundreds of affidavit ballots.
- Key Point: Hyde-Smith acknowledged defeat in a video posted to her campaign account, saying she respects the decision of Mississippi voters.
- Key Point: Counties face a Friday deadline to certify their results, and the state must certify the election by that date.
- Key Point: Democrats have flipped seven Senate seats this cycle and hold 54 seats to Republicans’ 44, according to one tally.
A historic first in a deep-red state
Colom’s victory marks a break with generations of white conservative control in Mississippi, a state that has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in more than four decades. He will also become the first Black person elected to statewide office there since Reconstruction.
Speaking earlier in the week, Colom framed his candidacy as a path-opener for others.
For me, it’s my job to make sure I make it easier for the next Black boy or girl that has the work ethic, the vision, the values to do public service if they want to be a United States senator.
Hyde-Smith, in her concession video, struck a respectful tone.
While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters.
The race had been tight since election night, with Colom holding a narrow lead that widened as late-arriving ballots were processed. His win comes just a few years after Hyde-Smith blocked his nomination to the federal bench, a nomination that had backing from some Republicans, including Mississippi’s senior senator, Roger Wicker.
How the count tipped
The contest hinged on affidavit, absentee and mail ballots across Mississippi’s 82 counties. Hinds County, a Democratic stronghold, became a focal point as election commissioners worked through thousands of affidavit ballots over eight days under close scrutiny.
On Wednesday, the county accepted 817 affidavit ballots and Colom received 703 of them, while Hyde-Smith got 96. Colom also picked up 61 late-arriving absentee votes to Hyde-Smith’s three. Earlier in the day, the county had rejected 1,609 of 2,426 affidavit ballots, about 66%, a rate that appeared significantly higher than the statewide figure of roughly 24% reported Tuesday by Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson.
Many of this year’s affidavit ballots stemmed from changes to the state’s voter list maintenance. More than 200,000 voters were marked inactive after Watson used credit reporting data from Experian to update the rolls. Those voters had to cast affidavit ballots on Election Day and verify their identity at the polls or provide valid identification to their local circuit clerk within five days. The deadline to provide ID was Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The state’s election laws and high turnout also slowed the count. Watson announced Tuesday that 76 of 82 counties had uploaded uncertified results and four had reported certified results. The last day for officials to receive mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day, and for voters to cure outstanding affidavit ballots, was Tuesday.
By Wednesday, Hyde-Smith’s path to overtaking Colom had all but vanished. She would have needed to win at least 64% of the estimated remaining votes to catch up, and Colom was outperforming his election-night share in counties that reported new totals, often by around 20 points. He even won some batches of ballots in Republican counties.
What the result means beyond Mississippi
The outcome adds to a decisive midterm rebuke of Trump, whose Republican Party suffered defeats in several states. It also strengthens the argument among some Democrats that their future runs through the South, and it expands their incoming Senate majority.
Democrats have flipped seven Senate seats from Republican control this cycle, holding 54 seats to the GOP’s 44 so far. A Colom victory reinforces that majority in the upper chamber.
Attention now turns to certification. Counties must upload their certified results by Friday, the next pivotal deadline, and the state must certify the election by that date. With Colom’s margin having ticked upward each day and few ballots left to process, Hyde-Smith’s chances of closing the gap appear remote, though the final tally will depend on the number of uncounted affidavits and absentee-by-mail ballots still outstanding.
The win also carries symbolic weight in a state where Black candidates have long faced structural barriers. Colom’s election, if certified, would place a Democrat in a Senate seat that Republicans have held for decades and would give national Democrats a fresh Southern foothold as they prepare to take control of the chamber.