Mississippi elects Democrat Scott Colom as state's first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction

Democratic nominee Scott Colom has defeated Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's closely contested U.S. Senate race after a prolonged ballot-counting process, giving the state its first Black U.S. senator since post-Civil War Reconstruction.

Mr. Colom's narrow victory is a seismic shift in Mississippi, which has been controlled mostly by white conservatives for generations, and it yielded immediate echoes around the country. The outcome adds to a decisive midterm rebuke of President Donald Trump, whose party suffered defeats in several Republican-controlled states, and it will bolster some Democrats' argument that their future runs through the American South.

The Associated Press called the contest Wednesday (November 11, 2026) in Mr. Colom's favour after local election officials spent several days processing absentee and provisional ballots, called affidavit ballots in Mississippi.

“While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” Ms. Hyde-Smith said in a two-minute concession speech posted online. “I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state.” A spokesman for the Senator said she called Mr.

Colom to congratulate him and concede before the video was shared publicly. ALSO WATCH U.S. midterm elections: What India is watching after Trump’s setback | Worldview The last time Mississippi chose a new Democratic Senator was 1947, and the winner then was a staunch segregationist.

Mr. Colom, a 43-year-old local prosecutor, capitalised on the state's large Black population, discontent with the economy and Ms. Hyde-Smith's missteps as she sought a second full term. “They actually deserve a Senator that will listen to them, that actually cares about what they think, actually cares about what they're going through,” Mr.

Colom said in the campaign's closing stretch. Mr. Colom said during the campaign that he could represent all of Mississippi, a state where racial divisions have long defined its politics and society. “It's got to be about having a party that represents rural America again, suburban America, urban America — a party that makes sure we actually deliver for voters in ways that make their lives better,” he said.

Party leaders hailed the senator-elect's triumph, with nods to the South's emerging battleground status after other upset victories from North Carolina to Texas. “Scott Colom is the only person who could've gotten this done,” Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer of New York posted online.

“Along with his staff and volunteers, Scott ran the campaign of a lifetime and re-imagined what's possible for Democrats in the South.” Former President Bill Clinton, a native Arkansan who campaigned with Mr. Colom days before the election, addressed Mr.

Colom on social media, saying he won “because you believe in the promise of your state's people. And they believed in you right back. I'm honoured to have stood alongside you.” Despite Mr. Schumer's support, the contest was a latecomer to the national spotlight, drawing attention from Democrats who belatedly infused cash into Colom's candidacy well after Black senators, including Georgia's Raphael Warnock and Maryland's Angela Alsobrooks, urged donors and party leaders to see the contest as winnable.

The son of a one-time Republican who worked for President Ronald Reagan, Mr. Colom garnered attention for his aggressive campaign as Democrats widened the Senate battleground map and Ms. Hyde-Smith's vulnerabilities crystallised.

Mr. Colom attracted particular notice for some of the year's most widely circulated ads. After Ms. Hyde-Smith, 67, seemed to brush off high beef prices by saying consumers could choose other proteins, Mr. Colom cut a 30-second spot depicting incredulous voters saying they'd “pick another senator instead.” When Mr.

Trump came to Corinth, Mississippi, in late October for a rally with Ms. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Colom walked the line of Mr. Trump supporters as they waited outside the gates. He introduced himself, asked about their concerns and explained his priorities.

Later that evening, when Mr. Trump called Ms. Hyde-Smith to the stage, she said nine words in six seconds: “Is this not the best President in our lifetime?”