- Colom also became the first black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction.
- Hiram Rhodes Revels became the nation’s first black senator in 1870. Mississippi’s last black senator, Blanche K. Bruce, served until 1881.
Catch up quickly: Colom’s victory widens Democrats’ 55-44 advantage over Republicans in the Senate.
- Concerns about a recount — which requires a court order, because Mississippi does not have a recount law — seemed moot when Hyde-Smith posted a video message to X shortly after AP called the race, appearing to concede to Colom.
- “While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of the voters of Mississippi. I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the enormous responsibility of representing our great state,” she said.
- Hyde-Smith also addressed another concern from Mississippi voters following a significant purge of the state’s voter rolls, saying her campaign “has worked tirelessly to ensure that every legally cast vote is counted and that Mississippians benefit from fair and transparent elections.”
- “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, but I want to be very clear: An election may end, but our commitment to Mississippi never will,” she said.
The big picture: Colom’s victory follows a late surge in spending and organizing by Democrats in a state that Trump won by 23 points in 2024.
- Hyde-Smith faced warning signs in the final months of the campaign, when Colom raised twice as much as the Republican senator despite his overall financial advantage.
- She has also been outgunned in television advertising, with a flood of ads from left-wing PACs and super PACs pushing support for Colom and attacking the senator for her vote not to release records related to convicted human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
- Hyde-Smith’s campaign also came under fire following an interview she gave to WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Mississippi, in which she fumbled to answer about the price of beef, saying Mississippians had “so many other proteins to choose from.”
- Colom’s campaign capitalized on his mistake, creating a viral campaign urging voters to “choose another senator.”
The GOP did a late push to help Hyde-Smith, including President Trump speaking at a rally for him in Alcorn County, where he won by 68% in 2024.
- But it wasn’t enough. Hyde-Smith’s term will end after eight years.
- She was appointed to the Senate in 2018 by then-Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant and ran for a full term in 2020, where she defeated Democratic challenger Mike Espy by 10 points.
Zoom: Colom, a 43-year-old Columbus prosecutor, campaigned on lowering the cost of living, raising wages and protecting rural hospitals.
- His campaign also attracted Democratic heavy hitters to support him, including former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock.
The bottom line: Colom’s victory adds Mississippi to a growing list of Republican strongholds where Democrats made breakthroughs in the midterms, including Texas and South Carolina.
- It also reinforces the role of Black voters in the Democratic Party’s comeback, after the party restored support from a crucial voting bloc that has shown signs of swinging toward Trump in 2024.
Editor’s note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
This story has been corrected to show that the Hyde-Smith interview was conducted in Biloxi (not Jackson, Mississippi).
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