Full coverage
Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s 2026 Senate race.
Colom’s win gives Democrats a Senate seat in a state that had not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982. Several outlets said he would be Mississippi’s first Black senator in more than 140 years, though they differ on the historical date they cite.
What the reports agree on
- Scott Colom, a Democrat, defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race. Guardian World, Newsweek, France24, Al Jazeera and 3 more
- Colom’s victory made him the first Black person elected to represent Mississippi in the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction. Guardian World, Newsweek, France24, Al Jazeera and 4 more
- The race was close and took more than a week to call. Newsweek, Guardian US, ABC News
- Colom was a 43-year-old district attorney. Guardian World, Al Jazeera
Where reports differ
- One report said Colom led by 4,669 votes when the Associated Press called the race. Newsweek
- Another report gave Colom’s margin as 5,611 votes. Newsweek
- Reports described the historical gap as more than 140 years, since 1874, since 1875, or since 1881. France24
Reported by one outlet
- Colom won eight counties that Hyde-Smith had carried in 2020: DeSoto, Forrest, Grenada, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Madison, Winston and Yalobusha. Newsweek
- About 1,000 people gathered at Tougaloo College in Jackson to celebrate Colom’s win. Guardian US
- Colom said affordability was a key reason he ran for the Senate. Al Jazeera
The original reports
- CBS News Mississippi reacts after Scott Colom wins Senate race
- ABC News Colom’s historic Senate win could reshape Mississippi’s political future: Analysis
- Axios Scott Colom's win in Mississippi puts political change to the test
- Newsweek Closest Senate Races in History as Scott Colom Clinches Victory
- CBS News Mississippi goes blue after highly contested Senate battle
- Newsweek The Greatest Ever Political Ad That Helped Scott Colom Win Mississippi
- Newsweek How Polls, Forecasts Got Mississippi Senate Race So Wrong
- CBS News Meet Scott Colom, Mississippi's first Black senator since 1881
- Guardian US Share your reaction to Scott Colom’s Mississippi Senate win
- France24 Mississippi elects its first African American to US Senate since Reconstruction
- BBC Top Stories Before Scott Colom, these two men were the last black US senators in Mississippi
- Newsweek How Cindy Hyde-Smith Orchestrated Her Own Mississippi Downfall
- Guardian World First Thing: Mississippi turns blue as Scott Colom unseats Republican Senate incumbent
- France24 Midterms: Democrat Colom claims historic win in Mississippi
- Newsweek Mississippi Map Shows Counties That Flipped Blue
- Al Jazeera Who is Scott Colom, Mississippi’s first Black senator in 150 years?
- France24 Scott Colom makes history in Mississippi as first Black senator in more than 140 years
- Axios From Emmett Till to Robert Johnson, the Delta powered Scott Colom's historic Senate bid
- France24 Mississippi Democrat Scott Colom flips US Senate seat in stunning upset
- France24 Mississippi elects Democrat Colom as state's first post-Civil War Black senator
- Al Jazeera Mississippi elects first Black Senator since 1874
- Guardian US Promises and pride: Scott Colom rejoices with young and old on historic night in Mississippi