Scott Colom Wins Nail-Biter Mississippi Race, Becoming State's First Democratic Senator-Elect Since 1982

Democratic challenger Scott Colom has defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in what was one of the tightest races of the 2026 midterms, marking another stunning victory for his party. The Associated Press called the race on Wednesday. Colom, a district attorney for Mississippi’s 16th Judicial District, becomes the first Black Senator elected in the state since 1874 and the first Democratic Senator elected there since 1982. Trump won Mississippi in the 2024 presidential election by nearly 23 points.There are certain paths that a losing candidate can pursue, however, according to a blog post from Derek Muller, a professor and expert on election law at the University of Notre Dame. For one, Muller wrote, they could mount a legal challenge over decisions to include or leave out certain ballots in the count, for instance. Or they could appeal to the U.S. Senate to determine who should be seated in the chamber.The Mississippi race remained too close to call for days after the election, with the two candidates split by only a razor-thin margin of as low as 0.1% with more than 95% of votes counted. Both candidates expressed confidence that they would win leading up to the final vote count. Colom in a statement said he was “confident we will ultimately flip this seat,” while Hyde-Smith told her constituents, “I assure you, I will continue to be your U.S. Senator.”Ahead of Election Day, the Senate race was filled with name-calling and tit-for-tat jabs over the candidates’ differing ideologies. Colom called Hyde-Smith a “chicken” for refusing to debate, something she hasn’t done since 2018. In response, Hyde-Smith’s campaign defended her by saying that there was “no point in debating someone so out of touch with Mississippi that he advocates for the sex change surgeries for children,” referencing Colom’s stance on gender-affirming care. Colom, who Hyde-Smith also called “the most radical liberal” to run for office in Mississippi, in 2021 signed a letter opposing the criminalization of transgender people and gender-affirming care, but has said that he opposes gender-affirming surgeries for minors. Hyde-Smith has similarly sought to paint Colom in a negative light by labeling him a “Transgender Defender” throughout her campaign. Colom created a nickname of his own for his opponent, referring to Hyde-Smith as “Cindy High Prices.” Colom, whose campaign focused in part on lowering consumer prices, criticized the Republican incumbent for comments that appeared to brush off concerns about rising beef prices in particular, zoning in on a February television interview in which the Mississippi Senator said in response to a question about rising costs for beef and other food that there were “so many proteins to choose from.” Colom’s campaign put out a viral ad that suggested that voters, instead of picking another protein, should “pick another senator.” The jab against Hyde-Smith was also made in reference to her support for Trump, whose approval ratings have sunk to new lows in large part due to mounting dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy. Hyde-Smith last month called Trump “the best President of our lifetime” during a rally where both Republicans shared the stageIn an unorthodox strategy, Colom attended Trump’s rally in Mississippi in an attempt to talk to voters about key issues and later said he had converted some of those he spoke to. “I'm gonna show up and I'm gonna listen, and when on Nov. 3 we pick a new United States Senator, I’m gonna represent them a lot better,” he said on Oct. 26.The two candidates were at odds on other key policy issues as well. Hyde-Smith, who chairs the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, also levied accusations against Colom for his position on abortion. Colom has described himself as pro-life, while saying that he trusts that women will “make the choices that are best for them.” When it comes to the war in Iran, meanwhile, Colom has opposed the conflict and its effect in driving up costs. Hyde-Smith has for her part acknowledged the war’s impact on the economy, but said it was necessary for national security. She also supported Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and cuts to Medicaid, which Colom has said he hopes to help reverse if elected.The candidates have a history predating their tight Senate race as well. In 2023, Hyde-Smith blocked Colom from a federal judgeship after he was tapped for the position by President Joe Biden, citing Colom's support for transgender rights, among other issues.