Mississippi just made history — twice over. For the first time in more than a century, the state will send a Black Democrat to the United States Senate, reshaping a political landscape that has remained largely unchanged since the Reconstruction era.
Democrat Scott Colom was declared the winner of Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race on Wednesday night, more than a week after Election Day. His victory marks the first time a Democrat has won the seat since 1989 — and the first time a Black candidate has represented the state in the Senate since 1881, a gap of 144 years.
Speaking at Tougaloo College on the night of his victory, Colom reflected on what it took to get there:
“All I did was have the courage to imagine a night like this. I had the courage to believe in Mississippi. I had the courage to understand that we can show the country that Mississippi matters.”
A Narrow Win With Wide Implications
The race was competitive down to the wire. As of Thursday morning, Colom led incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by fewer than 6,000 votes. Hyde-Smith becomes the first Mississippi senator to lose a reelection bid since Wall Doxey in 1942.
Hyde-Smith has faced scrutiny throughout her political career over racially charged actions and statements. In 2001, she pushed to rename a state highway after Confederate President Jefferson Davis. In 2018, she infamously joked about attending a “public hanging,” a remark that drew widespread condemnation. She has been repeatedly accused of racism throughout her tenure.
The significance of Colom’s win is magnified by Mississippi’s history. The state is where Emmett Till was lynched in 1955, a tragedy that helped spur the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. That Colom’s election took place in this state — 144 years after the last Black senator served — underscores just how consequential this moment is.
Who Is Scott Colom?
Colom is a lawyer who has served as district attorney for Mississippi’s 16th Judicial District since 2016. One of the defining moments of his career came in 2021, when he led the effort to exonerate Eddie Lee Howard, a Black man who had spent more than two decades on death row for a murder he did not commit.
In 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Colom for a federal judgeship on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. His nomination received support from Republican Sen. Roger Wicker but was effectively blocked by Hyde-Smith, who argued he was too liberal for the bench.
On the campaign trail, Colom kept his message focused on issues directly affecting everyday Mississippians — particularly the rising cost of living. He has endorsed raising the federal minimum wage and ending the war in Iran.
His win contributes to a broader Democratic surge: the party will now control at least 55 Senate seats in the next session of Congress. Vote counting in Alaska’s Senate race is still ongoing. The Democrats swept both chambers of Congress in what many are calling a historic election cycle, while results in other closely watched races — including the defeat of Sen. Susan Collins in Maine — have continued to reshape the political map. Separately, reporting has revealed that data center giants are funneling cash to Republican candidates, raising new questions about corporate influence in 2026 races.
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