Mississippi voters have elected Democrat Scott Colom to the U.S. Senate, unseating Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde‑Smith. NBC News projects Colom’s victory after a close count that left him with a narrow but decisive lead.
Historic First for Mississippi
Colom, a district attorney, will be the first Black senator from Mississippi since the post‑Civil War Reconstruction period. He was born in 1982, just weeks after the last Democrat won a Senate seat in the state 44 years ago.
Election Context and Trump’s Influence
President Trump carried Mississippi by 23 points in the 2024 presidential election, yet exit polling from NBC News shows a majority of Mississippians disapproved of his overall job performance. Voters also indicated that his policies, including tariffs, hurt the economy and that U.S. military action in Iran was wrong.
Colom’s win underscores the challenges the Trump administration faces in maintaining support even in traditionally red states. While President Trump’s 2024 margin was strong, the Senate race suggests a growing backlash against his agenda among Mississippi voters.
Campaign Dynamics
Colom’s campaign highlighted his belief that Mississippi’s sizable Black population and rural white voters could back a Democratic candidate. He criticized Hyde‑Smith for supporting tariffs that he said hurt Mississippians, for backing a Medicaid cut bill, and for endorsing the Trump administration’s war in Iran, which he claimed raised costs for farmers, truckers, and businesses.
Hyde‑Smith, appointed to the Senate in 2018 and elected to a full term in 2020, ran as a reliable conservative, emphasizing her loyalty to President Trump, who endorsed her more than a year before the midterms and called her “100% MAGA.”
Outside Spending and Surrogates
The race attracted significant outside money. The Senate Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, spent nearly $2.1 million on television ads, portraying Colom as a crusader against corruption. The GOP‑aligned Senate Leadership Fund responded with a comparable ad buy, labeling Colom “too liberal” and “too radical.”
High‑profile surrogates visited the state: President Trump traveled to Mississippi eight days before the election, while Democrats such as former Vice President Kamala Harris, Sens. Cory Booker and Raphael Warnock, and former President Barack Obama appeared in campaign ads supporting Colom.
Colom’s Response and Future Outlook
Colom praised his campaign’s grassroots effort and vowed to represent Mississippi’s diverse communities in Washington. He noted that he had forgiven Hyde‑Smith for previously blocking his nomination for a federal judgeship during the Biden administration.
In the upcoming Congress, Colom will be the most senior Democratic senator from a traditionally red state, positioning him to influence debates on tariffs, health‑care funding, and foreign policy. His victory may signal a broader shift in voter sentiment that could affect future elections in the Deep South.
Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.
