Scott Colom ousts Cindy Hyde-Smith in historic Mississippi Senate flip

Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in a stunning Mississippi upset , becoming the first Democrat elected to the state's Senate delegation since 1982, AP projects. Why it matters: Colom's victory marks another extraordinary breakthrough for Democrats in the Deep South, extending the historic blue wave that handed the party control of both chambers of Congress. Colom also becomes Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction. Hiram Rhodes Revels became the nation's first Black senator in 1870. Mississippi's last Black senator, Blanche K. Bruce, served until 1881. Catch up quick: The race remained too close to call after Election Day, with Colom's victory expanding Democrats' 55–44 advantage over Republicans in the Senate. The big picture: Colom's victory followed a late surge of Democratic spending and organizing in a state Trump carried by 23 points in 2024. Hyde-Smith faced warning signs in the campaign's closing months, when Colom raised twice as much as the GOP senator despite her overall cash advantage. She was also outspent on TV advertising , with a flood of ads from left-leaning PACs and super PACs pushing support for Colom and attacking the senator for her vote not to release files related to the convicted human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Hyde-Smith's campaign also faced criticism over an interview she gave to WLOX-TV in Jackson, Mississippi, where she fumbled an answer about the price of beef, saying that Mississippians had "so many other proteins to choose from." Colom's campaign capitalized on her blunder, creating a viral campaign ad urging voters to "choose another senator." The GOP made a late push to help Hyde-Smith, including President Trump speaking at a rally for her in Alcorn County, where he won by 68% in 2024. But it wasn't enough. Hyde-Smith's term will end after eight years. She was appointed to the Senate in 2018 by then-Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, and ran for a full term in 2020, where she bested her De