Sen. Scott Colom (D) defeated Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) in Mississippi’s closely contested U.S. Senate race, becoming the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction and delivering another major midterm setback to President Donald Trump and Republicans.
Scott Colom Defeats Cindy Hyde-Smith
On Wednesday, the Associated Press called the race after local election officials spent several days counting absentee and provisional ballots.
Colom, 43, a local prosecutor, capitalized on Mississippi’s large Black population, economic discontent and vulnerabilities in Hyde-Smith’s campaign.
“While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” Hyde-Smith said in her concession speech
She added, “I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state.”
Colom emphasized his commitment to representing voters across the state.
“They actually deserve a senator that will listen to them, that actually cares about what they think, actually cares about what they’re going through,” he said during the campaign’s closing stretch.
He also criticized Trump’s tariffs and Iran war, arguing they hurt Mississippi farmers, while focusing his attacks on Hyde-Smith’s record rather than Trump or his supporters.
Colom Credits Faith For Historic Win
At his victory party, Colom recalled facing early doubts and struggling to attract donors, but said he “kept the faith,” CNN reported.
He said, “God didn’t want us to get it the easy way. He wanted us to get it the Mississippi way,” while crediting supporters for the win, saying, “It’s something that we did.”
Democrats Celebrate Colom’s Historic Victory
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) celebrated the victory, saying Colom and his team had “re-imagined what’s possible for Democrats in the South.”
Former President Bill Clinton also congratulated Colom, saying he won because he believed in “the promise of your state’s people” and they “believed in you right back.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) celebrated Colom’s historic victory, praising his agenda of taking on “Big Tech, the billionaire class and corruption in Washington.”
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg congratulated Colom, saying his victory fulfilled his campaign motto, “Mississippi Matters,” and proved that “there’s no such thing as a permanently red state.”
Trump Faces Election Fraud Backlash
On Monday, Trump questioned the legitimacy of the midterm elections, alleging voting irregularities and claiming early-voting batches and voting machines had cost Republicans victories.
Schumer called his remarks a “pathetic return to election denialism,” while former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) challenged his fraud claims and said roughly 14 million Republican voters had stayed home because they could no longer support Trump and his party.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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