US Congressional elections: Black Democrat wins Senate seat in Mississippi

The Democrats have further expanded their newly acquired majority in the US Senate. As several US media confirmed on Wednesday evening, Democrat Scott Colom has won the Senate election in Mississippi, according to the latest counts. The US state is the second to last, ahead of Alaska, where a winner has now been determined. Colom is the first black senator to represent Mississippi in Washington since 1881.

He is also the first Democrat in 44 years to win a Senate election in Mississippi. Democrats gained a total of eight Senate seats in the midterm elections held last week. However, the victory of a Democrat in the ultra-conservative southern state may be the biggest surprise. Even the victory in Texas can't keep up.

The 43-year-old Colom works as a public prosecutor and focused on affordability during the election campaign. He was able to particularly convince the black electorate in Mississippi. As in the rest of the country, general dissatisfaction with US President Donald Trump's administration and the difficult economic situation contributed to his victory in Mississippi.

Democratic leaders celebrated the newly elected senator's success, saying this year's election results demonstrated that the American South is increasingly becoming a competitive political arena.

"Scott Colom is the only person who could have accomplished this. I knew it the moment I first met him. Together with his team and volunteers, Scott ran an outstanding campaign and redefined what is possible for Democrats in the South," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on X.

Black Democrats, including Rep. Bennie Thomas (Mississippi), Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (Maryland), and Sen. Raphael Warnock (Florida), supported Colom's candidacy from the start. Schumer also contributed to his success. He recruited Colom; helped him raise funds; and provide him with resources.

Even if it will be a very narrow victory in the end - there are currently just over 4,600 votes and 0.5 percentage points between Colom and his Republican opponent, incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith - there have already been signs in recent years that Mississippi could become the first state in the "Deep South" of the USA to elect a Democrat.

Mississippi has the highest proportion of black voters in the country and for years the election results there have been significantly closer than in neighboring southern states. The evaluation of the results so far has shown a high voter turnout in the Mississippi Delta. In this region, black voters make up the majority in many districts.

Overall, the political spectrum shifted to the left in almost all parts of the state - compared to the 2024 presidential election, in which Trump won Mississippi by a margin of almost 23 percentage points.

Colom's 67-year-old opponent Hyde-Smith called him late Wednesday afternoon to admit defeat. A short time later she published a statement to this effect.

"While this is not the outcome we were working toward or hoping for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters. I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well in this great responsibility," said Hyde-Smith.

The new senators will be sworn in in the first week of January.