Democrat Scott Colom defeats Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, becoming Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction

What happened

Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's U.S. Senate race, according to a race call by the Associated Press on Wednesday reported by NPR and PBS NewsHour. CBS News also projected Colom as the winner. The call came after local election officials processed absentee ballots and affidavit ballots, which is Mississippi's name for provisional ballots.

NPR reported that Colom won the closest Senate race in the country by just a few thousand votes. CBS News reported that on the day after the election, only a few dozen votes separated the two candidates at one point, and that Colom's lead grew in the following days. Colom, 43, is a district attorney and will be the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction.

Concession and victory speech

Hyde-Smith concedes

Hyde-Smith conceded in a video posted to social media shortly after the AP call, NPR reported. "While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters," she said. CBS News noted that Hyde-Smith, 67, has served in the Senate since 2018 and was the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Congress.

Colom speaks at Tougaloo College

Colom addressed supporters at the historically Black Tougaloo College campus in Jackson. "It's not something that I did, y'all. It's something that we did!" he said, according to NPR. CBS News reported that he also recalled moments when he "couldn't get donors to answer the phone" and a first town hall in Jackson where fewer than 10 people showed up.

How the campaign unfolded

Cost of living and a widely shared ad

Colom made cost of living a centerpiece of his campaign, NPR reported, and CBS News said he also focused on health care. When asked about high beef prices earlier this year, Hyde-Smith said that "you have so many other proteins to choose from," according to NPR. Colom answered with an ad featuring voters reacting in disbelief and urging people to "pick another senator" instead.

Late national attention

NPR reported that Mississippi saw little national money or attention until the closing days of the race. PBS NewsHour, citing the AP, reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer helped Colom raise money and that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also provided financial support. Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned for Colom, while President Trump held a rally with Hyde-Smith in Corinth, Mississippi, in late October.

Colom told NPR that the late investment by national Democrats was a mistake. "Mississippi has never been a lost cause, we've been a betrayed cause," he said.

An earlier clash over a judgeship

PBS NewsHour reported that in 2022, then-President Joe Biden nominated Colom to be a U.S. District Court judge in the Northern District of Mississippi. Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and former Gov. Haley Barbour backed the nomination, but Hyde-Smith blocked it. Colom said his Senate bid was never about getting even with her.

What it means for the Senate

CBS News reported that the win is the eighth Senate seat Democrats flipped this cycle, after victories in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas and Maine. In January, Democrats will control at least 55 seats to Republicans' 44, with Alaska's race still a toss-up, according to CBS News. More results from this year's races are collected in our election coverage.

NPR reported that Mississippi has the highest share of Black voters in the country, at close to 40%, and described the result as part of a shift across the South driven by a surge in Black voter turnout. PBS NewsHour reported strong turnout in the Mississippi Delta and said nearly all of the state moved leftward from the 2024 election. CBS News reported that Mississippi had not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982.

What to watch next

• Alaska's U.S. Senate race, which NPR and CBS News describe as still undecided.
• The start of the new Congress in January, when CBS News reports Democrats will hold at least 55 Senate seats.
• Colom taking office as Mississippi's first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction.