Democrat Scott Colom pulled off an upset victory in Mississippi's U.S. Senate election, defeating incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith.
The margin was just about 4,5 thousand votes out of nearly a million counted. Colom took 49,2 percent, Hyde-Smith 48,7 percent, and the independent candidate received 2,1 percent.
The Associated Press declared the winner on 11 November 2026, eight days after Election Day, after absentee and provisional ballots were counted.
Hyde-Smith congratulated her opponent in a video on X and wished him success, noting her respect for the voters' decision.
Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney, delivered his victory speech on the Tougaloo College campus in Jackson before hundreds of supporters.
This is the first Democratic victory in a Mississippi Senate election since 1982. The last was John C. Stennis.
Colom became the first Black native of the state elected to the U.S. Senate in more than 140 years — since Blanche K. Bruce left the post in 1881.
Hyde-Smith had earlier blocked Colom's appointment as a federal judge, after which he decided to run.
Colom's father once worked for the Republicans and even ran on Ronald Reagan's party ticket.
The victory came as a surprise: the state traditionally voted Republican, and Donald Trump won here in 2024 by a margin of more than 22 percent.
How will this affect Mississippi's political landscape in the coming decades?
Democrats now control 55 Senate seats, and the outcome of the Alaska race remains the last unresolved one.
