Democrat Scott Colom secured a historic Senate victory in Mississippi by defeating incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, breaking a Republican winning streak in the state dating to 1982.
| Candidate |
Party |
Vote Share |
Margin |
| Scott Colom |
Democrat |
49.2% |
~4,500–4,600 votes |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith |
Republican (incumbent) |
48.7% |
|
| Independent |
— |
2.1% |
|
Colom, 43, a district attorney for Mississippi's 16th Circuit Court District, defeated Hyde-Smith, 67, who had held the seat since her 2018 appointment by then-Gov. Phil Bryant. The incumbent conceded Wednesday evening in a video posted to X. "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."
The victory breaks a Republican winning streak in Mississippi Senate races dating to 1982. The last Black senator from Mississippi, Blanche Bruce, was chosen by the state legislature in 1874 and left office in 1881.
"They did not believe a moment like this was possible, but I kept the faith," Colom told supporters at Tougaloo College Wednesday night. "It's not something that I did y'all. It's something we did. In Mississippi, it's local people that make the difference."
At the NAACP headquarters in Jackson, board chairman Leon Russell called the result "purely the work of particularly the black community. There was not a whole lot of money, but there was a whole lot of organising." Amber Thomas, watching the returns, said simply: "When you fight, you win. Right now, I am overwhelmed with joy."
**A campaign built on price and presence**
Colom's breakthrough came through a strategy that national Democrats only belatedly embraced. The son of a onetime Republican who worked for Ronald Reagan, Colom visited all 82 Mississippi counties. His campaign's defining moment arrived after Hyde-Smith seemed to brush off high beef prices by saying consumers could choose other proteins. Colom cut a 30-second spot depicting incredulous voters saying they'd "pick another senator instead."
Colom tied Hyde-Smith to Trump's tariffs and the Iran war, arguing both drove up costs for Mississippi farmers and families. He criticized Trump's policies without taking personal jabs at the president or people who voted for him — a distinction he made visible when he walked the line at a Trump rally in Corinth in late October, introducing himself to supporters waiting outside the gates.
Hyde-Smith, by contrast, made a lack of public appearances. When Trump brought her onstage at that same Corinth rally, she spoke nine words in six seconds: "Is this not the best president in our lifetime?" Trump replied, "I love that. Sometimes they get up and they talk for 10 minutes."
**History and irony**
The race carried personal history. In 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Colom for a federal district judgeship. Mississippi's senior Republican senator, Roger Wicker, and former Gov. Haley Barbour supported the nomination. Hyde-Smith blocked it under the Senate's tradition that members can spike a president's choices for federal judicial positions in their home state.
Colom said the blockade never motivated his Senate run. "I'll tell you, as a Christian, I forgive her for that," he told Fox News Digital. "For me, it's really the betrayal of the America First movement, right? Like she was supposed to help President Trump get lower grocery prices. Well, she betrayed us. We're not getting lower grocery prices."
His closing ad filmed at the Jackson home of Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader assassinated in his driveway in 1963, framed the election as a continuation of the fight for voting rights. "He was killed for helping Mississippians vote," Colom said. "On Tuesday, use your vote and honor everyone who died for that right."
**National implications**
The Mississippi flip was part of a broader Democratic wave. The party gained Senate seats in Texas, South Carolina, Kansas, and Iowa. Alaska's Senate race, where former Rep. Mary Peltola challenges Sen. Dan Sullivan, remains too close to call.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand congratulated Colom before the AP call.
Schumer helped Colom raise money, joined by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, former President Bill Clinton, and former Vice President Kamala Harris, who campaigned for Colom in the closing weeks. Black senators Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Cory Booker of New Jersey rallied for him in October.
**What changed in the electorate**
Mississippi has the largest share of Black voters of any state, and turnout surged in the Delta's majority-Black counties. But the shift was statewide: nearly every county moved leftward from 2024, when Trump carried Mississippi by nearly 23 points. In 2023, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves won reelection by just three percentage points.
Colom's campaign argued he could assemble a coalition of strong Black turnout, Republican discontent over the economy, and an improved Democratic share of the white vote. Exit polls cited by multiple outlets pointed to voter frustration with inflation, tariffs, and the Iran war as primary drivers.
Hyde-Smith's campaign painted Colom as a puppet of billionaire donor George Soros, whose family contributed to Colom's political campaigns. The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Republican leadership, spent seven figures in the race's final weeks. Neither stemmed the tide.
**What comes next**
Colom will be sworn in as part of a freshman class of new Democratic senators. Democrats now hold 55 Senate seats to Republicans' 44, with Alaska pending. The party also controls the House.
For Mississippi, the political ground has shifted. "When you look at people who have pent up political desire to make a change, and they finally get that victory, you cannot unring that bell," said Brandon Presley, the 2023 Democratic nominee for governor. "It foundationally changes Mississippi politics. It shows that we're not some locked down red state."
