Democrat Scott Colom has defeated Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in a stunning upset to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. Following more than a week of vote counting, Colom secured a narrow victory, leading Hyde-Smith by more than 3,000 votes as of Wednesday. The result flips an eighth Senate seat for Democrats, padding their majority.
Colom's win marks a seismic shift in Mississippi, a state that had not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982. He will be the first Black senator from the state since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, more than 140 years ago. This victory occurred in a reliably Republican state where President Donald Trump won by more than 22 percentage points in 2024.
The 43-year-old district attorney and local prosecutor capitalized on the state's large Black population, economic discontent, and missteps by the incumbent during her bid for a second full term. While Colom opened a narrow lead on election night, the gap widened as election officials counted provisional ballots, which Hyde-Smith was unable to close.