Democrat Scott Colom has won the Mississippi Senate race, becoming the state first Black senator since 1874 and the first Democrat to win the seat in 43 years. His narrow victory over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith was declared late on Wednesday, more than a week after the midterm elections.
Why it matters
The margin was thin. Colom led by fewer than 5,000 votes, about 0.5 percentage points, after 99 percent of ballots had been counted. The race was one of the last to be called from the November 3 elections, and the count dragged on as lawyers from both parties watched the remaining ballots.
The history matters as much as the margin. The last Black candidate elected to the Senate in Mississippi was Blanche Bruce, a former slave, in 1874. Colom, a 43 year old district attorney who has served as a Mississippi prosecutor since 2016, will be one of only 14 Black senators ever elected or appointed in the United States.
What happens next
The win also changes the Senate math. Colom victory puts Democratic control at 55 to 44, with the race in Alaska still to be decided. It extends what many have called a blue wave, as Democrats firmly seized control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the midterms.
For Mississippi, the result is a turning point. There has not been a statewide elected Black official in the state in more than 140 years, in a state with a large Black population. Colom will take his seat as one of seven new Black senators, and his first task will be to show that a historic win can become a working majority.
Colom is 43, a lawyer who has served as a Mississippi prosecutor since 2016 until this year. He campaigned with his wife Nadia and their daughters Gwendolyn Lucille and Brooklyn Madison, and he spoke to the media at a diner in Jackson on November 5. Mississippi is home to a large Black American population but no Black person has held a Senate seat since the 1800s, and there has not been a statewide elected Black official in more than 140 years. Only 14 Black senators have ever been elected or appointed in the United States, and Colom will be one of seven new Black senators taking their seats.
