Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate, defeats Hyde-Smith

Scott Colom has won Mississippi’s U.S. Senate seat, defeating Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, according to projections by CBS News and NBC News, and after the Associated Press called the race, as reported by NPR, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. The projections came more than a week after Election Day as counties finished counting absentee mail ballots and affidavit (provisional) ballots. Unofficial returns show Colom ahead by about 4,700 votes as the final batches were tallied.

The result marks two milestones. Colom is the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Mississippi since 1982 and the first Black U.S. senator from the state since the post–Civil War Reconstruction era, according to CBS News, NBC News, the Associated Press, Reuters and Mississippi Today.

Mississippi Today, citing the AP, reported the call came with 99% of precincts reporting; the AP’s unofficial totals published by CBS News show Scott Colom (D) with 473,336 votes (49.2%), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) with 468,667 (48.7%) and Independent Ty Pinkins with 20,234 (2.1%). That reflects a raw margin of 4,669 votes; Mississippi Today put Colom’s Wednesday-night lead at 4,645. All figures remain unofficial until county certifications are complete.

Context underscores the upset: Donald Trump carried Mississippi by about 23 percentage points in 2024, according to official statewide results and as noted by NBC News and Mississippi Today.

Why was the race called on Nov. 11?

This was not a runoff. The general election took place Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, but the contest remained uncalled for more than a week while county officials processed remaining absentee by-mail ballots and affidavit (provisional) ballots. CBS News reported that the day after Election Day, with about 96% of the vote in, only a few dozen votes separated the candidates. As additional votes were counted in the days that followed, Colom’s lead strengthened.

On Wednesday, Nov. 11, the networks and the Associated Press made calls after Colom’s narrow edge held and widened. NPR reported the AP call just after 6 p.m. ET. Mississippi Today likewise reported that national outlets had projected the race. The AP call was based on uncertified results, and Mississippi Today noted that the campaigns have said legal challenges are possible. The votes remain unofficial until counties certify results.

What do the unofficial returns show?

CBS News and The Guardian, both citing AP data, posted unofficial totals showing Colom at 473,336 votes (49.2%), Hyde-Smith at 468,667 (48.7%), and Independent Ty Pinkins at 20,234 (2.1%). That corresponds to a margin of about 4,700 votes; Mississippi Today, citing AP figures, reported that Colom led by 4,645 votes Wednesday night with 99% of precincts reporting. These are not certified results.

The tight trajectory helps explain the slow call. Mississippi’s secretary of state, Michael Watson, said on Nov. 9 that 75 of 82 counties had uploaded unofficial results, and he reminded counties they must submit certified results by Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. At that time, WJTV, citing AP figures, reported Colom 467,961, Hyde-Smith 465,425 and Pinkins 20,032, and USA Today put the margin at 49.1% to 48.8% with 99% counted. Those interim snapshots were context for the extended count, not final figures.

Who are Colom and Hyde-Smith?

CBS News reported Colom is 43, a district attorney and a seventh-generation Mississippian. NBC News noted that Mississippi last elected a Democrat to the Senate 44 years ago, just a few weeks before Colom was born in 1982. During the Biden administration, Colom was nominated for a federal judgeship in northern Mississippi; NBC News and Mississippi Today reported Hyde-Smith blocked the nomination using the home-state “blue slip,” and Reuters reported she blocked the 2023 nomination citing his position on transgender issues, while Sen. Roger Wicker supported the nomination.

Hyde-Smith, 67, has served in the Senate since 2018 and was the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Congress, according to CBS News. She previously served as Mississippi’s agriculture commissioner. Mississippi Today reported she was appointed to the Senate in 2018 by then-Gov. Phil Bryant to succeed Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired mid-term, and NBC News noted she won a 2018 special election and a full term in 2020.

What did the candidates say?

Hyde-Smith conceded Wednesday night. “While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters. I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state,” she said in a video statement reported by Mississippi Today. Mississippi Today also reported that a source close to Colom’s campaign said Hyde-Smith called him to concede before releasing the video.

Colom, speaking to NBC News during the race, argued that Mississippi was not a lost cause but a “betrayed cause,” saying, “We were betrayed by Cindy Hyde-Smith because she allowed tariffs to hurt us. She allowed people — hundreds of thousands of Mississippians — to lose health care. She gave away our voice in the war in Iran, which drove up costs for farmers and for truckers and for businesses.” He also told NBC, “But for too long we were also a betrayed cause by the national party because they did not compete in this state.” Mississippi Today reported that when asked about possibly becoming the first Black man in more than a century to win a U.S. Senate race in the state, Colom said he wants to make sure he will not “be the last,” adding, “I don’t want anybody to say that I did anything to hurt the next person that has the talent, the work ethic, the ability to be able to reach for their dreams.”

Party leaders took note. In a joint statement reported by Mississippi Today, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand called the victory historic and said they would work with Colom “to fight for Mississippians’ health care, costs, and future in the 120th Congress,” describing him as “a seventh-generation Mississippian, proud husband and father of two, and District Attorney who has dedicated his life to keeping communities safe.” Mike Espy, who lost to Hyde-Smith twice and advised Colom, told Mississippi Today: “There is a time and place for everything. This is Scott Colom’s time, and his place is in the U.S. Senate.”

The high-profile race drew national attention. Reuters and NBC News reported that Donald Trump traveled to Mississippi near the end of the contest to campaign for Hyde-Smith, endorsing her as “100% MAGA,” while Democrats including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sens. Cory Booker and Raphael Warnock campaigned for Colom; NBC News said former President Barack Obama appeared in a Colom ad, and CBS News also mentioned former President Bill Clinton and Harris. NBC also reported late-October ad spending of roughly $2.1 million from Senate Majority PAC, with a comparable response from the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, per AdImpact.

What does this mean for Senate control?

CBS News reported that Colom is Democrats’ eighth flipped Senate seat this cycle, after the party notched wins in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas and Maine. An early example was North Carolina, where Democrats consolidated a path to a majority; see our earlier briefing on that North Carolina race. Both CBS and NBC report Democrats will hold at least 55 Senate seats next year, with Alaska the only Senate race left to be called. For a broader look at the midterms and congressional control, see our overview of the midterms and congressional control. For updates on the remaining uncalled Senate race, follow our Alaska Senate briefing.

The outcome came in a state Trump carried by about 23 points in 2024, according to official statewide results, as noted by NBC News and Mississippi Today.

What’s next

All vote figures remain unofficial until counties certify results. Secretary of State Michael Watson has said counties must submit certified results by Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. Alaska’s Senate contest remains uncalled, according to CBS and NBC. This story will be updated as more information becomes available and as counties complete certification.

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