Summary
After more than a week of counting absentee and affidavit ballots, the Associated Press called Mississippi's Senate race Wednesday for Democrat Scott Colom. The district attorney from north Mississippi defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by roughly 4,600 votes in a state Donald Trump won by 23 points just two years ago. Hyde-Smith called Colom to concede Wednesday evening.
What happened?
The closest Senate race in the country ended with the biggest upset of the cycle:
- The Margin: Colom 49.2%, Hyde-Smith 48.7%, with 99% of precincts reporting. Results are not yet certified
- The History: Colom becomes Mississippi's first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction, and the first Black person elected to any statewide office in Mississippi since then. Before him, only Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce, both chosen by the state Legislature in the 1870s
- The Streak: Mississippi hadn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since John Stennis in 1982, a few weeks before Colom was born
- The Math: Colom gives Democrats and the independents who caucus with them at least 55 seats next year. Alaska is the last race left to call
- The Concession: "While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters," Hyde-Smith said
The judge she wouldn't confirm
This story has a twist.
In 2022, President Biden nominated Colom to be a federal judge for the Northern District of Mississippi. Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and former Republican Gov. Haley Barbour backed him. Hyde-Smith blocked him.
On election night, before the votes were counted, she took a victory lap: "I blocked Scott Colom from being a federal judge, and you blocked him from being a US senator."
Mississippi had other plans.
Pick another senator
Colom didn't win by running away from Mississippi. He ran straight at it. His slogan was "Mississippi matters," and his case was about the bills people actually pay.
- The Cost of Living: He branded his opponent "Cindy High Prices" over gas and grocery costs
- The Beef: When Hyde-Smith told voters frustrated by beef prices that "you have so many other proteins to choose from," Colom's campaign answered with a viral ad: "Pick another protein? I'd rather pick another senator."
- The War and Tariffs: "She allowed tariffs to hurt us. She allowed people, hundreds of thousands of Mississippians, to lose health care. She gave away our voice in the war in Iran, which drove up costs for farmers and for truckers and for businesses."
- The Tone: He criticized Trump's policies without attacking Trump's voters. "They actually deserve a senator that will listen to them," he said
Hyde-Smith ran on loyalty instead. Trump endorsed her as "100% MAGA" and rallied for her eight days out. Her campaign called Colom a "stooge" of Chuck Schumer and George Soros. It wasn't enough.
Never a lost cause
The most important thing Colom said wasn't about Hyde-Smith. It was about his own party.
"Mississippi has never been a lost cause, we've been a betrayed cause," he told NPR. "They spent hundreds of millions of dollars in other states. They spent almost nothing in Mississippi."
He's right. The Cook Political Report rated this race Likely Republican going into Election Day. National money arrived late. Mississippi has the highest share of Black voters in the country, close to 40%, and Black turnout in the Delta helped carry him over the line. Those voters were there the whole time. Somebody just had to ask.
As Senate Democrats argue over who should lead them, this is the lesson worth carrying into that room. Voters in the places written off as unwinnable will show up for a candidate who shows up for them. The question for Democratic leadership isn't whether they can win Mississippi. It's why it took this long to try.