Democrat Scott Colom has pulled off a stunning upset over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s closely fought Senate race, which remained undecided for more than a week after Election Day.
With more than 95% of the vote counted Wednesday, Colom held 49.2% compared with 48.7% for Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.
The razor-thin contest, in which the candidates were separated by fewer than 5,000 votes, was called by multiple news outlets more than a week after polls closed.
Colom, district attorney for Mississippi’s 16th Judicial District, becomes the first Democrat to win a Senate election in the Magnolia State since John Stennis in 1982.
Hyde-Smith, who was first appointed to the Senate in 2018, had secured reelection in 2020 by a commanding 10-point margin.
President Trump traveled to Mississippi as part of his midterm campaign blitz before Election Day, making a last-minute push to protect Republican support in one of the party’s strongest states.
Trump carried Mississippi by 22.9% in 2024, a 6.4-point improvement over his 2020 margin. But troubling poll numbers raised concerns for Republicans and prompted him to campaign alongside Hyde-Smith.
Colom also received high-profile support from former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who each campaigned on behalf of the Democratic district attorney.
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Democrats also scored a series of surprising victories in traditionally Republican states, including Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, South Carolina and Texas, delivering a sweeping rebuke of Trump and the GOP-led government in Washington.
The Democratic surge began soon after polls closed, when incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., comfortably won reelection in a race Republicans had viewed as a major pickup opportunity.
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Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, D, was then declared the winner in the Tar Heel State, flipping the seat for Democrats. Although Democrats had been favored in both contests, the results were called far earlier than expected.
In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham to win the seat once held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham for more than 20 years.
Kansas elected its first Democratic senator since 1932, as Adam Hamilton unseated incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan.
James Talarico delivered what was arguably the night’s biggest shock, defeating Republican Ken Paxton. Talarico had received more than five million votes with 91% of ballots counted.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s three-term tenure also came to an abrupt end when he conceded to Gina Hinojosa, a former member of the Texas House representing the state’s 49th District.
