--- title: Democrat Scott Colom Wins Nail-Biter Mississippi Senate Race description: Colom defeated incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/11/12/mississippi-senate-race-scott-colom-cindy-hyde-smith-2026-midterm-elections/ author: Connor Greene article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-11-12T01:49:01.097Z article:modified_time: 2026-11-12T01:49:11.063Z article:section: Politics og:title: Democrat Scott Colom Wins Nail-Biter Mississippi Senate Race og:description: Colom defeated incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/11/12/mississippi-senate-race-scott-colom-cindy-hyde-smith-2026-midterm-elections/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0056fbbec4a58d0/6aed0bef4eb3c7830417957b/mississippi-senate-scott-colom-midterm-elections.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: mississippi-senate-scott-colom-midterm-elections.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Democrat Scott Colom Wins Nail-Biter Mississippi Senate Race twitter:description: Colom defeated incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0056fbbec4a58d0/6aed0bef4eb3c7830417957b/mississippi-senate-scott-colom-midterm-elections.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scott Colom Wins Nail-Biter Mississippi Race, Becoming State's First Democratic Senator-Elect Since 1982 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=fb9013a4-3d20-4c61-a18d-2b4db504653e&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Connor Greene](https://time.com/author/connor-greene/) ## Connor Greene Reporter Nov 12, 2026 1:49 AM UTC  Democratic Mississippi Senate candidate Scott Colom speaks during a midterm campaign rally in Tupelo, Mississippi, on October 30, 2026. Democratic Mississippi Senate candidate Scott Colom speaks during a midterm campaign rally in Tupelo, Mississippi, on October 30, 2026. Brad Vest—Getty Images by [Connor Greene](https://time.com/author/connor-greene/) ## Connor Greene Reporter Nov 12, 2026 1:49 AM UTC Listen 00:001.0x05:24 Narrated by TIME AI. Democratic challenger [Scott Colom](https://time.com/article/2026/11/05/mississippi-senate-race-2026-midterm-elections-colom-hyde-smith/) has defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in what was one of the [tightest races](https://time.com/article/2026/11/05/senator-elizabeth-warren-why-democrats-won-the-midterms/) [of the 2026 midterms](https://time.com/article/2026/11/10/midterm-election-results-biggest-democrat-surprise-wins-forecaster-ratings-republican/), marking another stunning victory for his party. The Associated Press called the race on Wednesday. Colom, a district attorney for Mississippi’s 16th Judicial District, becomes the first Black Senator elected in the state since 1874 and the first Democratic Senator elected there since 1982\. Trump won Mississippi in the 2024 presidential election by nearly 23 points. **Read More:** [_How the Mississippi Senate Race Became a Nail-Biter_](https://time.com/article/2026/11/05/mississippi-senate-race-2026-midterm-elections-colom-hyde-smith/) Colom’s victory marks the eighth Republican-held Senate seat Democrats have flipped in this year’s midterms, securing a majority of at least 55 seats, including independents who caucus with the party. They will nevertheless remain short of the 60 votes generally needed to overcome a filibuster on legislation. Colom’s margin of victory was narrow: he had 49.1% of the vote to Hyde-Smith’s 48.8%, with an estimated 98% of ballots counted, according to the AP. Mississippi law provides for neither automatic nor candidate-requested recounts, though a court can order one. There are certain paths that a losing candidate can pursue, however, according to a [blog post](https://electionlawblog.org/2026/the-complicated-path-to-resolving-a-u-s-senate-election-dispute-in-mississippi/) from Derek Muller, a professor and expert on election law at the University of Notre Dame. For one, Muller wrote, they could mount a legal challenge over decisions to include or leave out certain ballots in the count, for instance. Or they could appeal to the U.S. Senate to determine who should be seated in the chamber. The Mississippi race remained too close to call for days after the election, with the two candidates split by only a razor-thin margin of as low as 0.1% with more than 95% of votes counted. Both candidates expressed confidence that they would win leading up to the final vote count. Colom in a [statement](https://x.com/scott%5Fcolom/status/2117874973649916245) said he was “confident we will ultimately flip this seat,” while Hyde-Smith [told](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC3QjPeKf7w) her constituents, “I assure you, I will continue to be your U.S. Senator.” Ahead of Election Day, the Senate race was filled with name-calling and tit-for-tat jabs over the candidates’ differing ideologies. Colom called Hyde-Smith a “[chicken](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/09/29/debate-colom-hyde-smith-election/)” for refusing to debate, something she hasn’t done since 2018\. In response, Hyde-Smith’s campaign defended her by saying that there was “no point in debating someone so out of touch with Mississippi that he advocates for the sex change surgeries for children,” referencing Colom’s stance on gender-affirming care. Colom, who Hyde-Smith also [called](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/11/02/hyde-smith-and-colom-make-final-pitches-in-mississippi-senate-midterm-race) “the most radical liberal” to run for office in Mississippi, in 2021 signed a letter opposing the criminalization of transgender people and gender-affirming care, but has said that he opposes gender-affirming surgeries for minors. Hyde-Smith has similarly sought to paint Colom in a negative light by labeling him a “[Transgender Defender](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/09/29/debate-colom-hyde-smith-election/)” throughout her campaign. Colom created a nickname of his own for his opponent, referring to Hyde-Smith as “Cindy High Prices.” Colom, whose campaign focused in part on lowering consumer prices, criticized the Republican incumbent for comments that appeared to brush off concerns about rising beef prices in particular, zoning in on a February television interview in which the Mississippi Senator said in response to a question about rising costs for beef and other food that there were “so many proteins to choose from.” Colom’s campaign put out a [viral ad ](https://x.com/scott%5Fcolom/status/2110149942727553187)that suggested that voters, instead of picking another protein, should “pick another senator.” The jab against Hyde-Smith was also made in reference to her support for Trump, whose approval ratings have sunk to new lows in large part due to mounting dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy. Hyde-Smith last month [called](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/10/26/trump-rallies-for-cindy-hyde-smith-in-mississippi-you-like-me/) Trump “the best President of our lifetime” during a rally where both Republicans shared the stage In an unorthodox strategy, Colom attended Trump’s rally in Mississippi in an attempt to [talk to voters](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1578652693587855) about key issues and later said he had converted some of those he spoke to. “I'm gonna show up and I'm gonna listen, and when on Nov. 3 we pick a new United States Senator, I’m gonna represent them a lot better,” he said on Oct. 26. The two candidates were at odds on other key policy issues as well. Hyde-Smith, who chairs the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, also levied [accusations](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/11/02/hyde-smith-and-colom-make-final-pitches-in-mississippi-senate-midterm-race) against Colom for his position on abortion. Colom has described himself as pro-life, while saying that he trusts that women will “make the choices that are best for them.” When it comes to the war in Iran, meanwhile, Colom has opposed the conflict and its effect in driving up costs. Hyde-Smith has for her part acknowledged the war’s impact on the economy, but said it was necessary for national security. She also supported Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and cuts to Medicaid, which Colom has said he hopes to help reverse if elected. The candidates have a history predating their tight Senate race as well. In 2023, Hyde-Smith blocked Colom from a federal judgeship after he was tapped for the position by President Joe Biden, citing Colom's support for transgender rights, among other issues. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/11/12/mississippi-senate-race-scott-colom-cindy-hyde-smith-2026-midterm-elections/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/11/12/mississippi-senate-race-scott-colom-cindy-hyde-smith-2026-midterm-elections/"},"headline":"Scott Colom Wins Nail-Biter Mississippi Race, Becoming State's First Democratic Senator-Elect Since 1982","datePublished":"2026-11-12T01:49:01.097Z","dateModified":"2026-11-12T01:49:11.063Z","description":"Colom defeated incumbent Sen. 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