Democrat Scott Colom has made history as Mississippi’s first Black US senator in over 150 years, securing a narrow upset against Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith late Wednesday to deliver his party’s first Senate victory in the deeply conservative state in more than four decades, reports Al Jazeera.
The 43-year-old former prosecutor defeated Hyde-Smith, an ally of President Donald Trump, by fewer than 5,000 votes with 99 percent of ballots counted—more than a week after US midterm elections that delivered Democrats sweeping control of both chambers of Congress. Colom’s triumph expands the Democratic Senate majority to 55-44, ends a 43-year Senate drought for the party in Mississippi since 1982, and makes him the state’s first African American senator since 1874.
Speaking at his victory celebration at the historically Black Tougaloo College in Jackson, Colom admitted he had nearly abandoned the race at times. “There were times when I was tired, and I felt like I couldn’t keep going, but I kept the faith,” he told supporters, later posting on X that the win belonged to everyone. Despite Mississippi having one of America’s largest Black populations, the state had not elected a Black official statewide in over 140 years. Colom joins six other newly elected Black senators, bringing the historical total of Black US senators to just 21.
Born in Columbus into a family of lawyers, Colom married Nadia Colom, with whom he has two children, and relied heavily on his identical twin brother, Andrew, during the campaign. In 2015, he became the first Black district attorney for Mississippi’s 16th Judicial District, encompassing several white-majority counties. His tenure included dropping murder charges in 2021 against Eddie Lee Howard, a Black man freed after 26 years on death row due to insufficient evidence. Three years later, Hyde-Smith blocked former president Joe Biden’s nomination of Colom to a federal judgeship, accusing him of supporting transgender athletes and taking funding from billionaire George Soros.
Observers credited Colom’s crossover appeal in a state Trump won by 23 points in 2024 to his respectful tone and sharp advertisements. When Hyde-Smith, a rancher, drew backlash in February for suggesting voters facing surging beef prices amidst the US-Israel war on Iran simply “have so many proteins to choose from,” Colom countered with ads urging voters to “pick another senator instead.” Other spots featured his wife playfully calling him “Sweet Thang,” alongside a solemn final ad invoking slain civil rights icon Medgar Evers, prompting many habitual Republican voters to back him online.
Campaigning heavily on affordability, Colom condemned the unpopular Iran conflict for driving up fuel and grocery costs. He pledged to curb executive war powers, restore Senate authority over tariffs, raise the federal minimum wage, and cut federal taxes for Mississippians earning under $75,000. On healthcare and security, he promised to defend Medicaid against Trump administration cuts, increase law enforcement pay, and support lawful border security. Regarding technology, he vowed to regulate artificial intelligence and ensure local communities decide on data centre construction while forcing tech firms to fund their own power and water usage.
Although some supporters and conservative commentators already view Colom as a potent 2028 presidential contender—potentially surpassing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a threat—the senator-elect dismissed White House speculation. “I am not trying to be a threat to anybody,” Colom told CNN, insisting his focus remains strictly on serving and delivering for Mississippi.
