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Who is Scott Colom, Mississippi’s first Black senator in 150 years?

Who is Scott Colom, Mississippi’s first Black senator in 150 years?

Also reported by France24

Summary

Democrat Scott Colom narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s 2026 U.S. Senate race. His win makes him the state’s first Black senator since 1874 and ends a 43-year stretch without a Democratic Senate victory in Mississippi.

Key Facts

  • Colom defeated Hyde-Smith by fewer than 5,000 votes after 99 percent of ballots had been counted.
  • Hyde-Smith was an ally of President Donald Trump.
  • Colom’s victory gives Democrats a 55-44 Senate majority, while Alaska’s race was still being counted.
  • Colom is a 43-year-old lawyer who served as a Mississippi prosecutor from 2016 until this year.
  • In 2015, Colom became the first Black district attorney elected in Mississippi’s 16th Judicial District.
  • Colom’s notable cases included the 2021 release of Eddie Lee Howard, who had spent 26 years on death row; prosecutors later dropped the murder charge.
  • Colom said affordability was a key reason he ran for the Senate.
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