Democrat Scott Colom pulls off stunning Mississippi Senate upset
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Scott Colom, the Mississippi Democratic nominee for Senate. Photo: Courtesy of Scott Colom for U.S. Senate
Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in a stunning Mississippi upset, becoming the first Democrat elected to the state's Senate delegation since 1982, AP projects.
Why it matters: Colom's victory marks another extraordinary breakthrough for Democrats in the Deep South, extending the historic blue wave that handed the party control of both chambers of Congress.
- Colom also becomes Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction.
- Hiram Rhodes Revels became the nation's first Black senator in 1870. Mississippi's last Black senator, Blanche K. Bruce, served until 1881.
Catch up quick: The race remained too close to call after Election Day, with Colom's victory expanding Democrats' 55–44 advantage over Republicans in the Senate.
The big picture: Colom's victory followed a late surge of Democratic spending and organizing in a state Trump carried by 23 points in 2024.
- Hyde-Smith faced warning signs in the campaign's closing months, when Colom raised twice as much as the GOP senator despite her overall cash advantage.
- She was also outspent on TV advertising, with a flood of ads from left-leaning PACs and super PACs pushing support for Colom and attacking the senator for her vote not to release files related to the convicted human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
- Hyde-Smith's campaign also faced criticism over an interview she gave to WLOX-TV in Jackson, Mississippi, where she fumbled an answer about the price of beef, saying that Mississippians had "so many other proteins to choose from."
- Colom's campaign capitalized on her blunder, creating a viral campaign ad urging voters to "choose another senator."
The GOP made a late push to help Hyde-Smith, including President Trump speaking at a rally for her in Alcorn County, where he won by 68% in 2024.
- But it wasn't enough. Hyde-Smith's term will end after eight years.
- She was appointed to the Senate in 2018 by then-Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, and ran for a full term in 2020, where she bested her Democratic challenger Mike Espy by 10 points.
Zoom in: Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney from Columbus, campaigned on lowering the cost of living, raising wages and protecting rural hospitals.
- His campaign also drew in heavy Democratic hitters to stump for him, including former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock.
The bottom line: Colom's win adds Mississippi to a growing list of Republican strongholds where Democrats broke through in the midterms, including Texas and South Carolina.
- It also reinforces the role of Black voters in the Democratic comeback, after the party rebuilt support among a crucial voting bloc that showed signs of shifting toward Trump in 2024.
