Democrat Scott Colom elected Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction
He defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and will be the first Black senator there chosen by voters, not state lawmakers.
Democrat Scott Colom was declared the winner of Mississippi's U.S. race on Wednesday, defeating Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. The result came more than a week after election day. Colom will be the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction, and the first picked by voters, not lawmakers.
The two earlier Black senators, Hiram Rhodes Revels and Blanche Kelso Bruce, were Republicans picked by the legislature during Reconstruction. The BBC reports it is the first Democratic win for the seat in more than 40 years. Colom will take the oath of office in January.
The BBC also reports that, according to records, he trailed Hyde-Smith in campaign donations. It says the NAACP reported knocking on doors and visiting churches across the state in the run-up, and that exit polls showed 91% of Black voters backed Colom. Political scientist Marvin King told Axios that Democrats gained ground in most of the state's .
Hundreds gathered at Tougaloo College in Jackson for Colom's victory speech. Mississippi Republican Party chair Mike Hurst congratulated him and said Colom ran a good campaign. Mississippi votes for governor and other statewide offices in November 2027.
- 91%of Black voters in Mississippi backed Colom, per exit polls cited by the BBCBBC News
- 75 of the state's 82 countieswhere Democrats gained ground, per political scientist Marvin KingAxios
- more than 150,000 doorsknocked on by the NAACP, by its own countBBC News
- About 300,000 more votersshowed up in 2026 than in the 2022 midterms, the BBC reportsBBC News
- roughly $2mColom's donation deficit against Hyde-Smith, per FEC records cited by the BBCBBC News
Three sides of the story
16 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from conservative outlets
Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.
Liberal13 outlets
Colom's improbable rise and what the win means
The Boston Globe profiles Colom, opening on him at his parents' kitchen table phoning donors on lunch breaks. His mother recalls the typical answer: "You sound impressive. You can't win."
It traces his family, including a father who was once a Republican, and notes Hyde-Smith had blocked his Biden nomination to a federal judgeship. The Philadelphia Inquirer describes celebrations at Tougaloo College, the local NAACP office and elsewhere in Jackson, among students, longtime residents and white Democrats. It quotes NAACP national president Derrick Johnson saying voters "refused to be intimidated, discouraged, or counted out," and state Republican Party chair Mike Hurst's congratulations.
Axios asks whether the win is "a once-in-a-generation breakthrough" or the start of an era of Black political power. It cites Marvin King on Democratic gains in 75 of 82 counties and Andra Gillespie saying the conditions behind the win are "probably not going to be the new normal." NBC News runs a Meet the Press video segment titled "How Scott Colom flipped deep-red Mississippi blue."
- The Boston Globe: ‘I had to have faith’: How a Democrat defied long odds in Mississippi’s Senate race
- The Philadelphia Inquirer: At a civil rights landmark, a night of jubilation over Colom’s victory
- Axios: Scott Colom's win in Mississippi puts political change to the test
- NBC News: How Scott Colom flipped deep-red Mississippi blue
Center3 outlets
A historic win built on organizing and history
The BBC opens with a scene "145 years in the making" at the NAACP's state headquarters in Jackson, where a crowd heard the result. It sets the win against Republican moves to reduce majority-Black districts after a ruling overturning parts of the Voting Rights Act. It lists the NAACP's door-knocking and church visits, student turnout, a national backlash over living costs, Hyde-Smith's few public appearances and Colom's tour of all 82 counties.
Colom is quoted: "All I did was have the courage to imagine a night like this." The Seattle Times looks back instead, profiling Hiram Rhodes Revels and Blanche Kelso Bruce, the two Black senators chosen by lawmakers during Reconstruction, both Republicans. It quotes Howard University's Justin Hansford calling the vote "really radical" for Mississippi, and Nicole Austin-Hillery of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation on equal justice and voice.
Conservative0 outlets
Outlets on the right gave the story little coverage.
Which side made the stronger case?
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All sources: 25 articles from 16 outlets
Liberal (21)
- Al Jazeera English: Mississippi elects first black senator in nearly 150 years
- Axios: Scott Colom's win in Mississippi puts political change to the test
- Axios: From Emmett Till to Robert Johnson, the Delta powered Scott Colom's historic Senate bid
- HuffPost: Mississippi Democrat Scott Colom Trolls Defeated GOP Rival With ‘Chef’s Kiss’ Victory Placard
- HuffPost: Democrat Scott Colom Defeats Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith In Mississippi Senate Race
- MS NOW: Scott Colom’s U.S. Senate win changes the narrative about Mississippi (opinion)
- Mother Jones: Mississippi, Once the Epicenter of Jim Crow, Elects Its First Black Senator Since Reconstruction
- NBC News: How Scott Colom flipped deep-red Mississippi blue
- PBS NewsHour: How Scott Colom won his longshot bid to flip Mississippi's Senate seat
- PBS NewsHour: Scott Colom's historic victory marks 'new moment' for Black voters, Bryan Stevenson says
- Slate: Lessons on Scott Colom’s Win From Mississippi’s First Black Senator
- The Boston Globe: ‘I had to have faith’: How a Democrat defied long odds in Mississippi’s Senate race
- The Boston Globe: Black voters view Scott Colom’s historic Senate win through lens of Mississippi’s racial legacy
- The Guardian: Across racial lines, Americans celebrate Scott Colom’s historic election: ‘The times they are a-changin’
- The Guardian: Mississippi makes history with Democrat Scott Colom’s Senate win - The Latest
- The Independent: Trump heaps surprise praise on Democrat Scott Colom after his historic Mississippi Senate upset
- The Philadelphia Inquirer: At a civil rights landmark, a night of jubilation over Colom’s victory
Center (4)
- BBC News: Black Mississippians celebrate a victory almost no one saw coming
- The Hill: Trump on Colom's Mississippi Senate win: 'I give him a lot of credit'
- The Seattle Times: Trump praises Democrat Scott Colom for showing up to Mississippi rally and courting MAGA supporters
- The Seattle Times: Scott Colom makes history in Mississippi. Two other Black men did the same 150 years before him
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