The senator who blocked his judgeship has lost her seat to him: Scott Colom wins Mississippi by about 4,400 votes
Democrat Scott Colom has won Mississippi's Senate race, nine days after polling day, and Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith conceded on Wednesday evening US time. He is the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982 and the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction, and his win takes Democrats to at least 55 seats.
Updates
- About 7am AWST Thu 12 NovLatest
Cindy Hyde-Smith concedes in a call to Scott Colom and a video message: "I respect the decision of Mississippi voters."
- Wed 11 Nov (US time)
Colom's lead reaches 4,404 votes as the last absentee ballots are counted, and the race is called for him.
Three things to know
- Colom finished about 4,400 votes ahead, roughly 49.2% to 48.7%, in a state Donald Trump carried by 23 points in 2024.
- Joe Biden nominated Colom to the federal bench; Hyde-Smith blocked it, and he ran against her instead.
- Only Alaska is still uncalled. A Democratic win there would make the Senate 56 to 44.
Scott Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney from Columbus, has won Mississippi’s US Senate seat, defeating Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith in the closest and slowest race of the 2026 midterms.
Hyde-Smith called Colom to concede at about 6pm Eastern time on Wednesday (about 7am AWST Thursday), then posted a video message congratulating him. “I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” she said, adding that her team had worked to ensure every legally cast vote was counted.
The race was called more than a week after the 3 November vote. Early returns had the two separated by a few dozen votes. By Wednesday Colom led by 4,404, with about 49.2% of the vote to Hyde-Smith’s 48.7%, a margin late absentee ballots could not close.
Why does Mississippi matter so much?
Because it was not supposed to be close. Trump won the state by 23 points two years ago, and its other senator, Roger Wicker, won in 2024 by 25. Colom is the eighth Democrat to take a Republican seat this year, and the result confirms what the midterms had already shown: Republicans have lost control of the Senate.
He is the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982, a few weeks before he was born, and the first Black senator to represent the state since Reconstruction more than 140 years ago. Mississippi has the largest Black share of population of any US state, about 38%.
“We were never a lost cause. We were a betrayed cause,” Colom has said of Democrats in the state.
Who is Scott Colom?
The son of two lawyers, Colom was the first Black justice court judge in Lowndes County and the first Black city prosecutor in Columbus. In 2015 he beat a nearly 30-year incumbent to become district attorney, the first Black DA elected in a majority-white district in Mississippi’s history.
Biden nominated him to the federal court for northern Mississippi. Hyde-Smith blocked the nomination, which was returned in January 2024. He announced his Senate run in September 2025, and a campaign video on beef prices built around the nickname “Cindy High Prices” passed 19 million views.
Hyde-Smith, 67, was appointed in 2018 after Thad Cochran resigned, then won the special election that year and a full term in 2020.
Why did it take nine days?
Mississippi counts absentee ballots postmarked by polling day if they arrive within five business days, a rule the US Supreme Court upheld in June, and voters can fix problems with provisional ballots after the polls close. Mississippi is also the only state with no recount law, so both parties sent lawyers into all 82 counties for the count. Even Jackson County, a Republican stronghold that added more than 2,000 votes late, gave Hyde-Smith no ground.
What does it mean outside the US?
The Senate confirms ambassadors, cabinet members and judges, and ratifies treaties. With a Democratic majority from January, every Trump nominee, including those for posts that deal with Australia and the region, will need Democratic votes or Democratic consent to move.
VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.
How we got here
The key moments that brought this story into focus. Open any moment for detail.
1982Last Democratic Senate win in Mississippi
John Stennis is re-elected; he serves until 1989.
2018Hyde-Smith appointed
She replaces Thad Cochran and wins that year's special election.
January 2024Colom's judgeship dies
Biden's nomination of Colom to the federal bench, blocked by Hyde-Smith, is returned.
September 2025Colom enters the race
He announces a Senate run against Hyde-Smith.
3 November 2026Polling day
Early returns show the two separated by a few dozen votes.
11 November 2026Colom wins
Hyde-Smith concedes after he moves about 4,400 votes ahead.
What happens next
Mississippi still has to certify the result. Alaska is the last Senate race to be called: with about 84% counted, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Dan Sullivan 49% to 47.2%. The new Senate is sworn in on 3 January 2027, when Colom takes his seat.
Sources
- VNN
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That is the story in a minute. For the evidence, context and what happens next, switch to the full story.
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