![[US Midterm Elections 2026] Democrat Colom achieves historic victory in Mississippi US Senate race](/api/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Face%2Fws%2F240%2Fcpsprodpb%2Fdc59%2Flive%2F150d2fe0-ddde-11f1-b465-b9821c2582d4.jpg)
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Brandon Drennon (Mississippi)
Democratic candidate Scott Colom won the state of Mississippi in the U.S. midterm U.S. Senate race, which was counted on the 3rd. Democrats won a shocking victory in the deeply conservative state, which has elected Republicans for decades. This is the first time since 1881 that a black candidate from the state has been elected to the U.S. Senate.
With vote counting almost complete, only a few thousand votes separate Colom from incumbent Republican Rep. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
The margin was so close that it took time for local election officials to count all the votes that arrived before the polls closed, and it wasn't until more than a week after Election Day that U.S. media reported that he had won.
According to the CBS tally, Colom received 49.2% of the vote. Mr Hyde-Smith received 48.7% of votes, while independent candidates received 2.1%.
On the night of the 11th, Rep. Hyde-Smith congratulated Colom on his election and wished him success in a video posted on the social media platform "X."
“This is not the outcome we were aiming for or wanted, but we respect the decision of the voters of Mississippi,” the congressman said.
As a result, the Democratic Party now has 55 seats in the Senate (constant number of 100). The race in Alaska is also close, and the winner has not yet been announced.
Republicans have been winning Mississippi since 1982, but that streak ended here.
No one expected Mississippi's election to be so close. President Donald Trump won the state in the 2024 presidential election with a margin of over 22 points.
However, in this midterm election, Democrats won states that would have been strong Republican strongholds, such as Texas, South Carolina, and Kansas, and gained a majority in both the House and Senate.
According to opinion polls, voters' dissatisfaction with the economic situation under the Trump administration and the war with Iran appears to have been a major factor in the election result.
Mr. Colom appeared to take advantage of the growing national antipathy toward the Republican Party. Colom, the Mississippi district attorney, has used public opinion to highlight his opponent's support for President Trump's tariff policies. She earned the nickname "Cindy High Price."
Mr. Colom waged a vigorous campaign, visiting all 82 counties in Mississippi.
The Hyde-Smith campaign accused Colom of being a puppet of George Soros, a liberal billionaire known for donating money to the Democratic Party.
Hyde-Smith was criticized for not appearing in public.
(English article: Democrat Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate race in surprise victory for party)
