Who is Scott Colom, the underdog Democrat stunning Mississippi

• A win would build on the historic blue wave that flipped Senate seats in longtime red strongholds, including Kansas and South Carolina, and give Dems 55 seats — 56 if Mary Peltola wins Alaska.

Who is Scott Colom?

Zoom in: Colom is a 43-year-old Black Democrat and district attorney for Mississippi's 16th Judicial District. He was elected in 2015, unseating the incumbent who had held the job for 30 years.

• Colom announced his Senate campaign in September 2025, advocating for a higher minimum wage, lower costs and protections for rural hospitals.
• Though Colom is a Democrat, he has family roots in Republican politics as his father campaigned with Ronald Reagan and was friends with former Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, per AP.

Colom's style and attacks on Hyde-Smith

Colom has approached the Mississippi race by portraying himself as someone who wants to lower more prices and have a closer relationship with Mississippians.

• "I'm not running to be another Democratic senator," he said at a June campaign event. "I'm running to be Mississippi's senator."

Colom's attacks on Hyde-Smith have been a little spicy.

• In August, he said Hyde-Smith cares more for "her MAGA daddy" — a reference to President Trump — than Mississippi citizens, and he launched a campaign called "Where's Cindy?" that accused her of missing town halls and prioritizing wealthy donors.
• He also gave her the nickname "Cindy High Prices" because of rising costs under her leadership.

Worthy of your time: A viral ad from Colom, which amassed 13 million views on X, poked fun at Hyde-Smith for telling voters to try other proteins amid soaring beef prices.

The other side: Hyde-Smith's campaign called Colom a "transgender defender" and the "most radical Senate candidate of our lifetime."

The history between Hyde-Smith and Colom

The intrigue: Colom and Hyde-Smith actually have a political history, as she blocked his nomination to become a federal judge in 2023.

Flashback: In 2022, former President Biden nominated Colom to serve as the federal district judge in North Mississippi.

• But Hyde-Smith blocked the nomination by refusing to sign off on it, preventing Colom from moving forward in the confirmation process.
• Hyde-Smith cited concerns about Colom's position on transgender athletes.
• In 2021, Colom signed a letter opposing efforts to criminalize transgender people and gender-affirming care, though the letter did not specifically address sports.

Hyde-Smith also dinged Colom over financial support his 2015 district attorney campaign reportedly received from a PAC backed by billionaire George Soros.

Why would a Colom victory be historic?

State of play: The latest AP results as of Thursday early afternoon show Colom narrowly leading Hyde-Smith by roughly 1,000 votes with about 96% of ballots counted.

• Colom expressed confidence in a potential victory and said he was prepared to pursue legal challenges.
• Hyde-Smith similarly predicted victory "when every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted."

Colom would make history as Mississippi's first Black U.S. senator in more than 100 years.

• Hiram Revels was Mississippi's first Black senator and the first Black politician to serve in either chamber of Congress. Appointed by the Mississippi Legislature, he served from 1870 to 1871.
• Mississippi's most recent Black senator was Blanche K. Bruce, who served from 1875 to 1881. Also appointed by the Mississippi Legislature, he was the first Black politician to serve a full Senate term.
• Colom would also be the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982.

What's next: Thousands of outstanding ballots could determine the outcome of the Senate race. Mississippi does not automatically recount votes in close elections.