Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate seat, beating Cindy Hyde-Smith

Democrat Scott Colom has won the US Senate race in Mississippi, beating Republican senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 midterms. The Associated Press called the race on Wednesday, 11 November, after days of counting absentee and provisional ballots. Colom took 49.2% of the vote to Hyde-Smith’s 48.7%, according to AP figures.

Why it is historic

Colom, a local district attorney, will be Mississippi’s first Black US senator since Reconstruction, the period after the American Civil War in the 1870s. He is also the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi in decades: CNBC and NBC News say since 1982, while AP puts it at 1989, so the outlets differ on the exact year.

Mississippi is one of the most Republican states in America; Donald Trump won it easily. Two sources close to Colom’s campaign said Hyde-Smith phoned him on Wednesday afternoon to concede.

What people said

The Guardian spoke to voters who were openly emotional. One told the paper that “God came back and gave us all the marvels”. The BBC called the win history-making.

What it means for the Senate

This is the eighth Senate seat Democrats have flipped this cycle. From January they will hold at least 55 seats to the Republicans’ 44, with Alaska’s race still too close to call, according to the reporting. That gives Democrats control of the chamber that confirms judges, cabinet members and ambassadors, including the US ambassador to Pakistan nominated this month.

Why Pakistanis are watching

A Democratic Senate can block or slow Trump’s nominees and shape what Washington does on Iran, aid and trade, all of which reach Pakistan. The midterm results have also made US politics one of the big searches in Pakistan and the UK this week.

Colom takes his seat in January. Watch the Alaska result, which decides whether Democrats reach 56.