Colom’s Mississippi Senate Win Marks a Democratic First
Scott Colom, a local prosecutor, was projected to unseat Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi on November 11, more than a week after the midterm elections. The outcome would make Colom the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state since John C. Stennis in 1982, and the first Black Mississippian voters elected to the Senate.
With 98.6 percent of ballots counted Wednesday night, Colom had 49.2 percent to Hyde-Smith’s 48.7 percent, a lead of about half a percentage point. CNN projected Colom as the winner, while the Associated Press had not called the race.
Hyde-Smith had led in two polls cited before Election Day. A Change Research survey in October put her at 43 percent and Colom at 40 percent; an August Data for Progress poll showed her leading 44 percent to 38 percent. Both results were within the polls’ stated margins of error.
The Mississippi result adds to Democratic gains in a midterm election that shifted control of both chambers of Congress. Democrats won the House and took the Senate, after Republicans entered the election with a 53-47 Senate majority. In 2024, Donald Trump carried Mississippi by nearly 23 percentage points, winning 60.9 percent of the vote to Kamala Harris’ 38 percent.
Mississippi Voters Send Colom to Senate in Historic Upset
Mississippi voters have sent a historic message by choosing Scott Colom over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, with Colom projected to become the state’s first Democratic senator since 1982 and its first Black senator elected by popular vote. The local prosecutor’s victory adds to Democrats’ gains in Congress after the midterms.
The margin was narrow but persistent: with 98.6 percent of ballots tallied Wednesday night, Colom led 49.2 percent to Hyde-Smith’s 48.7 percent. CNN projected Colom as the winner, though the Associated Press had not yet called the contest.
The result is especially striking in a state Donald Trump carried by nearly 23 points in 2024. Voters nonetheless chose Colom over the Republican incumbent, overturning expectations reflected in pre-election polls that showed Hyde-Smith ahead. A Change Research survey had her up three points, while an August Data for Progress poll put her lead at six points; both margins were within the surveys’ stated error ranges.
Colom’s win contributes to a broader rejection of Republican congressional control. Democrats won the House and Senate, reversing the Republicans’ 53-47 Senate majority and changing the balance of power for the rest of President Donald Trump’s current term. The result gives the party control of both chambers after a midterm in which the president’s party was seeking to retain its majorities.
Mississippi’s Razor-Thin Senate Race Adds to Democratic Sweep
Scott Colom’s projected victory in Mississippi is a narrow win, not a sweeping mandate: with 98.6 percent of ballots counted Wednesday night, he led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 49.2 percent to 48.7 percent. CNN called the race for Colom, while the Associated Press had not yet done so.
The result gives Democrats another Senate seat and helps complete their takeover of both chambers after Republicans entered the election with a 53-47 Senate majority. That shift puts Congress under Democratic control for the rest of President Donald Trump’s current term, despite Mississippi voting for Trump by nearly 23 percentage points in 2024.
Colom, a local prosecutor, would become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982 and the first Black Mississippian voters elected to the Senate. Those historic milestones do not erase how close the contest was: Hyde-Smith remained within half a point as ballots were counted.
Pre-election polls had favored Hyde-Smith, with leads of three points in one survey and six in another, although both fell within their stated margins of error. Democrats can point to Colom’s win as part of their national success, but the exceptionally tight Mississippi tally underscores that the result came by a slim margin, not an overwhelming statewide vote.
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