Democrat Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Race in Upset Over Cindy Hyde-Smith

The update

Democrat Scott Colom has won the United States Senate race in Mississippi, defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith after more than a week of ballot counting. The Associated Press called the race at 5:58 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. Only a few thousand votes separated the candidates in the closest Senate race in the country, as officials counted outstanding absentee and provisional ballots.

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Why it matters

Colom is the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982 and the first Black senator elected from the state since 1875. His win came in a state Donald Trump carried by more than 22 points in 2024. The result raises the Democratic Senate majority to 55 seats, according to the BBC, with a close race in Alaska still uncalled, and caps Democratic wins in Republican strongholds including Texas, South Carolina and Kansas.

What to watch

Mississippi has no automatic recount law, so any challenge would need a court order and would proceed county by county. Attention now turns to the uncalled Alaska race, which will set the final Senate margin, and to whether Hyde-Smith concedes or pursues a legal challenge as the results are certified.

Sources

• bbc.co.uk — confirms Colom’s win, the few-thousand-vote margin, the 55-seat Democratic majority and the historic firsts
• npr.org — confirms the Associated Press race call, Colom’s defeat of Hyde-Smith and his cost-of-living campaign

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