Jackson, Mississippi, November 12 (TNA) Democrat Scott Colom has defeated Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s closely contested US Senate race, according to The Associated Press. His victory makes him the first Black senator elected from Mississippi since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.
The Associated Press called the race for Colom on Wednesday after local election officials completed the processing of absentee and provisional ballots, known in Mississippi as affidavit ballots. The prolonged counting followed the November 3 midterm election.
Narrow Victory in Closely Watched Race
Colom led Hyde-Smith by a narrow margin after updated results from several counties, including Jackson County, which added 2,173 votes to the tally. The final update put Colom ahead by 4,669 votes out of 962,237 counted, a margin of about 0.5 percentage points.
The result marks a major political upset in a state that has long been dominated by white conservatives. Colom’s win also makes him the first Democrat elected to the US Senate from Mississippi since 1982.
Historic Breakthrough
Colom’s election breaks a 145-year gap in Black representation in Mississippi’s Senate delegation. The state has not elected a Black US senator since the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. The victory carries particular significance in Mississippi, where nearly 40 per cent of the population is Black, but top elected representation has remained overwhelmingly white for generations.
What the Result Means
Colom’s win adds to a series of Democratic gains in the November midterms and represents a rare Democratic breakthrough in one of the country’s most Republican-leaning states.
The Associated Press said the race was called after updated county results made Colom’s lead insurmountable. Hyde-Smith had initially declared victory on election night, but the narrow margin and outstanding ballots kept the outcome unresolved for days.