Scott Colom claims Mississippi Senate seat in narrow victory

Democrat Scott Colom won the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi, the Associated Press reported.

Colom defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by a margin of a few thousand votes. The result followed more than a week of counting outstanding absentee and provisional ballots. It stands as the closest Senate race in the country this cycle.

Mississippi has not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in over 40 years. The state also has not elected a Black senator since Reconstruction. Black voters make up nearly 40% of the electorate, the highest share in the nation. President Trump won the state by 23 points in 2024.

Colom, a district attorney, focused his campaign on the cost of living. He criticized the state's rural, agriculture-heavy economy and rising prices. He labeled the incumbent 'Cindy High-Prices.' Hyde-Smith, a cattle rancher and former state agriculture commissioner, told reporters earlier this year that voters had 'so many other proteins to choose from' due to high beef costs.

That comment inspired a viral ad from Colom's campaign. The spot featured residents reacting to the suggestion to 'pick another protein.' It concluded by urging voters to 'pick another senator.' The race attracted millions in investment from both parties, especially in the final weeks.

National attention arrived late in the campaign. President Trump held a rally in the final week, while former Vice President Kamala Harris and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock visited the state. The Cook Political Report had rated the race as Likely Republican before election night. Colom said the Democratic Party's late investment was a mistake.

"The reality is, Mississippi has never been a lost cause, we've been a betrayed cause," Colom told NPR earlier this month. "The Democratic Party has not been trying to win Mississippi. Let's stop kidding ourselves, right? They spent hundreds of millions of dollars in other states. They spent almost nothing in Mississippi."