Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Seat in Historic First Since Reconstruction

Democrat Scott Colom has won the US Senate race in Mississippi, defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in a result projected on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. The Scott Colom Mississippi Senate victory makes him the state’s first Black US senator since Reconstruction and its first Democratic senator since 1982.

FAKTA

• Winner: Scott Colom, 43, Democrat and district attorney for Mississippi’s 16th judicial district.
• Defeated: Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who had served in the Senate since 2018.
• Called: Wednesday, 11 November 2026, by CNN and NBC News; the Associated Press also declared Colom the winner after his lead grew to more than 3,000 votes.
• Historic firsts: First Black US senator from Mississippi since Blanche K. Bruce, who left office in 1881; first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state since 1982.
• Senate picture: The eighth Senate seat Democrats have flipped from Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections, giving them a minimum 55-seat majority going into 2027, with Alaska still counting.
• Concession: Hyde-Smith conceded on Wednesday evening in a video message, congratulating Colom and saying she respects the decision of Mississippi voters.

A result more than a week in the making

Mississippi voters cast their ballots in the midterm election on 3 November, but the race remained too close to call for more than a week while election workers counted absentee and provisional ballots across the state. Colom held a narrow lead that grew steadily as the count continued, and the race was projected for him on Wednesday evening, 11 November.

Both parties sent legal teams to monitor the ballot counting as the margin stayed tight. Final certified totals are expected on Friday. Mississippi has no recount process for federal races, and no 50-percent-plus-one majority is required.

A historic first for Mississippi

Colom will be the first Black US senator from Mississippi since the Reconstruction era. The state’s last Black senator, Blanche K. Bruce, was born into slavery and left office in 1881. He will also be the first Democrat the state has elected to the US Senate since 1982.

Colom, a seventh-generation Mississippian, addressed supporters at Tougaloo College, the historically Black college in Jackson, on Wednesday night. He opened his victory speech by honouring Hiram Revels, the country’s first Black US senator, who also represented Mississippi, along with civil rights figures Fannie Lou Hamer and Medgar Evers.

“For me, this journey started with a prayer, y’all,” Colom said. “In Mississippi, our prayers have often changed the course of history.”

From blocked judgeship to the Senate

Colom and Hyde-Smith were no strangers to each other. In 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Colom, then a district attorney, to serve as a US District Court judge for the Northern District of Mississippi. Hyde-Smith blocked the nomination by withholding her “blue slip”, the Senate courtesy that allows a home-state senator to stop a judicial nominee from advancing. She cited concerns about his record, including his position on transgender rights.

About two and a half years later, Colom launched his campaign for her Senate seat. A former municipal court judge and local prosecutor, he had been elected district attorney for four counties in 2015. He campaigned on the slogan “lower costs, higher wages, save our health care, save our hospitals”, and his campaign’s “Mississippi matters” message.

National attention grew late in the race. Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned for Colom, while President Donald Trump held a rally for Hyde-Smith in Corinth in the final week of the campaign. Trump had won Mississippi by more than 23 points in 2024, and Colom flipped at least 18 counties that had voted for Trump that year.

What the result means for the Senate

Mississippi is the eighth Senate seat Democrats have flipped from Republicans in this year’s midterm elections, giving the party a minimum 55-seat majority going into 2027, with votes still being counted in Alaska. Colom will be one of nearly a dozen new Democratic senators set to take office in January.

The result completes a midterm in which Democrats also won control of Congress. Read our earlier report: Democrats Win Control of US Congress in 2026 Midterm Elections.

What happens next

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

Colom will take his seat when the new Senate convenes in January 2027.