Scott Colom flips Mississippi Senate seat in historic upset
Why it matters: The win makes Colom the first Black U.S. senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction and expands Democrats' Senate majority.
Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's closely fought U.S. Senate race after several days of counting absentee and provisional ballots, the Associated Press projected Wednesday. Colom, a local prosecutor, will become the first Black U.S. senator from Mississippi since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.
The upset in a state long dominated by white conservatives adds to a string of Democratic gains in the midterms. CNBC reported Democrats now hold at least 55 Senate seats, with Alaska still outstanding, and have already won enough House seats to take control of that chamber in January. Hyde-Smith later conceded and congratulated Colom in a video posted on X.