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US Politics · 2026 midterm elections

AP calls Mississippi Senate race for Democrat Scott Colom as Republican Hyde-Smith concedes

Colom becomes the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction, and the win gives Democrats 55 Senate seats, with Alaska's race still uncalled.

27 news outlets reported this
Liberal11 outletsAn upset in a deep-red state and whyCenter9 outletsA historic result and a midterm rebuke of TrumpConservative7 outletsDemocrats flip a seat, with Hyde-Smith's loss
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's US race. The Associated Press called the race on Wednesday, Nov. 11, after more than a week of counting absentee and affidavit ballots. With an estimated 99% of ballots counted, Colom had 49.2% of the vote to Hyde-Smith's 48.7%.

Colom is a . He becomes the state's first Black senator since the Reconstruction era. Hyde-Smith conceded in a video posted online, and a spokesperson said she first called Colom.

Mississippi law allows neither automatic recounts nor ones requested by candidates, but a court can order one. Donald Trump carried the state by nearly 23 points in 2024. Hyde-Smith had blocked former President Joe Biden's nomination of Colom to a federal judgeship, citing his stance on transgender issues, among other reasons.

The result gives Democrats 55 seats in the 100-member Senate, and the Alaska race has not been called. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer wrote that "blue Mississippi is here."

Key figures
  • 49.2%Colom's vote share, with an estimated 99% of ballots counted, per the APTime
  • 48.7%Hyde-Smith's vote share, per the APTime
  • more than 4,500 votesColom's lead in the latest media-tabulated resultsDeutsche Welle
  • 55-44Democrats' advantage in the 100-member SenateDeutsche Welle
  • 38 of Mississippi’s 82 countiescounties Colom won, by MS NOW's countMS NOW

Three sides of the story

11Liberal9Center7Conservative

27 news outlets reported this

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Liberal11 outlets

An upset in a deep-red state and why

Time calls Colom's win "another stunning victory" for Democrats and one of the tightest races of the 2026 . It notes he is the first Black senator elected in Mississippi since 1874, quotes Hyde-Smith's two-minute concession, and recounts the campaign: the "Cindy High Prices" nickname and a viral ad built on her "so many proteins to choose from" remark. MS NOW asks how he did it and answers with vote totals and its Voter Poll: roughly 473,000 votes, more than Kamala Harris won in 2024, 8% of Trump voters, and voters wanting a check on the president.

It concludes that he won with a changed electorate, some Trump crossover votes and a backlash against the president. The New York Times says the win fuels Democratic hopes that next year's governor's race could be competitive. PBS NewsHour, in a Nov. 10 report, looks at how Mississippi voters reflect on the race and how election officials handle the count of absentee and provisional ballots.

Center9 outlets

A historic result and a midterm rebuke of Trump

Deutsche Welle leads with the AP projection of a narrow victory, noting Colom is 43 and Hyde-Smith 67. It gives the 55-44 Senate split and House gains, and says the outcome adds to "a decisive midterm rebuke" of Trump. Deseret News says the win reflects a leftward shift as voters "rebuke President Donald Trump's administration."

It quotes Schumer's "blue Mississippi is here" and notes that Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican, backed Colom's judicial nomination while Hyde-Smith did not. BBC News, on Nov. 11, called the count a "cliffhanger" and talked to Jackson State students who voted for Colom and Brookhaven residents who voted for Hyde-Smith or did not vote, some citing gas and grocery prices. It adds that her campaign portrayed Colom as a puppet of donor George Soros.

A Nov. 12 BBC piece calls the result a "historic victory."

Conservative7 outlets

Democrats flip a seat, with Hyde-Smith's loss

Breitbart News calls it "a stunning loss" for Hyde-Smith that gives Democrats their 55th seat. It says Colom's lead grew from a couple hundred votes to nearly 5,000 as absentee and provisional ballots were counted, and that Democrats made their largest midterm gain since 1986. It says Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's judicial nomination over concerns about large contributions allegedly tied to George Soros, and that Colom welcomed Bill Clinton, Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg to campaign with him.

The Daily Caller reports that Colom "flipped" the seat with 49.19% to 48.71%, per the AP, and says he will be the first Democratic senator to represent Mississippi since 1989. It carries Hyde-Smith's concession, recalls the beef-price ad, and notes that Alaska's race is not yet called.

What a side did not mention
All sources: 43 articles from 27 outlets

Liberal (22)

Center (13)

Conservative (8)

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