AI Image
Democrat Scott Colom wins Mississippi 2026 Senate race, flipping seat in upset
CBS News • • general
Key Points:
- Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the Mississippi Senate race, marking the eighth Senate seat flipped by Democrats this cycle.
- Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney and seventh-generation Mississippian, campaigned on cost-of-living and healthcare issues, receiving support from prominent Democrats including Bill Clinton and Kamala Harris.
- Colom will become Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction, while Hyde-Smith, the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Congress, conceded and congratulated him.
- The race was unexpectedly competitive in the deeply Republican state, with national Democrats investing heavily and the Cook Political Report shifting its rating from solid Republican to leaning Republican.
- Colom's victory adds to Democratic gains in other states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, and Maine, strengthening their Senate majority.
