Colom flips Mississippi Senate seat

Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith to win the U.S. Senate seat for Mississippi. The Associated Press called the race late Wednesday, marking the closest Senate contest in the nation. Colom won by a margin of a few thousand votes after a count that extended for more than a week.

The victory breaks a long political trend in the state. Mississippi has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in over 40 years. The state also has not elected a Black senator since the Reconstruction era. Colom’s win follows a surge in Black voter turnout, a demographic that makes up close to 40% of the state’s electorate. President Trump won the state by 23 points in 2024, yet the midterm results showed a shift in local voting patterns.

Hyde-Smith conceded the race in a video posted to social media shortly after the race call. She said she respected the decision of Mississippi voters and wished Colom well. "While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters," she said.

The campaign focused heavily on the cost of living in the state’s rural, agriculture-heavy economy. Colom, a district attorney, attacked Hyde-Smith’s record on prices. He labeled her "Cindy High-Prices" in his messaging. Hyde-Smith, a cattle rancher, drew attention for her comments on beef prices earlier in the year. When asked about high costs, she suggested voters have "so many other proteins to choose from."

Colom’s campaign turned that comment into a viral ad. The spot featured people reacting to the senator’s remark about picking a different protein. The ad concluded that it was time to "pick another senator." This approach contrasted with Hyde-Smith’s low profile, as she rarely spoke to reporters in Washington and had minimal presence in the state.

National attention to the race arrived late. The Cook Political Report rated the race as Likely Republican on election night. Democrats poured millions in investment into the state in the final weeks. President Trump held a rally in the final week, and former Vice President Kamala Harris, along with Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, visited the state.

Colom has criticized the timing of that support. He told NPR earlier this month that the party had treated Mississippi as a secondary priority. "The reality is, Mississippi has never been a lost cause, we've been a betrayed cause," he said. He noted that Democrats spent hundreds of millions of dollars in other states but almost nothing in Mississippi until the end.

The count of outstanding absentee and affidavit ballots took several days to finalize. The long tally kept the result in suspense until the early hours of November 11. Colom now heads to Washington to replace Hyde-Smith, ending her tenure in the Senate.