Scott Colom Wins Stunning Victory, Becomes Mississippi's First Black Senator Since Reconstruction

Democrat Scott Colom has made history as Mississippi’s first Democratic senator since 1982 — and its first African American senator since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. Colom narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in a state that President Trump won by nearly 23 points in 2024. Colom’s victory brings the incoming Senate Democratic caucus to 55. Colom gave his victory speech on Wednesday at the historically Black Tougaloo College, just miles from where civil rights activist Medgar Evers was murdered in 1963 by a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

“There were times that I couldn’t get donors to answer the phone; they did not believe a moment like this was possible. But I kept the faith,” said Colom. “There are so many people that had faith in Mississippi at times where it seemed impossible, people like Medgar Evers.”