{"id":4323,"date":"2026-11-12T08:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T08:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=4323"},"modified":"2026-11-12T08:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T08:16:19","slug":"mississippi-senate-results-scott-colom-narrowly-defeats-cindy-hyde-smith-flipping-another-seat-for-democrats-in-midterm-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=4323","title":{"rendered":"Mississippi Senate results: Scott Colom narrowly defeats Cindy Hyde-Smith, flipping another seat for Democrats in midterm elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mississippi Democrat Scott Colom narrowly defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith on Wednesday to flip another Senate seat for Democrats and become the first Black candidate elected to the U.S. Senate from Mississippi in more than 140 years.<\/p>\n

According to figures from the Associated Press, Colom \u2014 who will also be Mississippi’s first Black senator since 1989 \u2014 won 49.2% of the vote. Hyde-Smith finished with 48.7%.<\/p>\n

“There were times that I couldn’t get donors to answer the phone,” Colom told supporters as they celebrated his historic upset late Wednesday night. “They did not believe a moment like this was possible, but I kept the faith.”<\/p>\n

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Mississippi \u2014 one of the reddest states in the country \u2014 wasn’t really on the national radar prior to Nov. 3. President Trump won the state by 23 percentage points in 2024 \u2014 his third straight win there. Looking ahead to the 2026 Senate race, analysts said it was a “likely Republican” hold<\/u>. Barely anyone bothered to poll it<\/u>.<\/p>\n

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But by the end of Election Night, Colom and Hyde-Smith were separated by just 65 votes, shocking the nation.<\/p>\n

Colom’s win expands Democrats’ total number of Senate seats to 55 and cements the party’s best overall midterm performance since 1974 \u2014 a rout that has seen the GOP lose control of the Senate, the House and statehouses across the country.<\/p>\n

As lawyers, operatives and legal observers descended on Mississippi to watch officials count every last ballot, Colom repeatedly expressed confidence that his campaign would prevail, flooding the airwaves and attending at least eight post-election events. “It’s very clear the direction of this,” he told reporters on Friday<\/u>.<\/p>\n

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Colom picked up that thread in Wednesday’s victory speech. “I’ve been telling everybody that we’re going to win this election,” he said. “I was saying it 8 or 9 months ago. But every time I said it, I pointed out that people were going to give me too much credit for it because it’s not something that I did. It’s something that we did. All I did was have the courage to imagine a night like this. I had the courage to believe in Mississippi.”<\/p>\n

Hyde-Smith conceded to Colom in a video posted on X Wednesday evening: “While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” she said. “I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state.”<\/p>\n

Alaska is now the only undecided Senate race. Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan 48.9% to 47.3% with 84% of the vote counted, according to the latest AP figures.<\/p>\n

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Who is Scott Colom?<\/h2>\n

Colom, 43, was born in Columbus, Miss., to two lawyers who also participated in politics. In 1987, his father, Wilbur, ran for state treasurer as a Republican; his mother, Dorothy, served as the first Black Chancery Court judge in their home district. Colom earned his JD from the University of Wisconsin in 2009 and went on to serve as the first Black justice court judge in Lowndes County, Miss., before becoming the first Black city prosecutor in Columbus.<\/p>\n

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In 2015, Colom defeated a nearly 30-year incumbent to become the first Black district attorney elected in a majority-white voting district in Mississippi history. He has since prosecuted a number of high-profile murder and sexual assault cases.<\/p>\n

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