Democrat Scott Colom is projected to defeat Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's U.S. Senate race, according to CNN, ending a closely watched vote count eight days after Election Day.
CNN projected the race Wednesday (November 11), putting Colom on track to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Mississippi since 1982 and the first Black person elected to statewide office in the state since Reconstruction.
Mississippi previously sent two Black lawmakers to the U.S. Senate: Hiram Revels in 1870 and Blanche Bruce in 1875. Both were selected by state legislators before senators were elected by popular vote.
The projected victory comes after more than a week of counting absentee and affidavit ballots in one of the country's closest Senate races.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Colom held a 4,404-vote lead, with 471,757 votes to Hyde-Smith's 467,353, according to WLBT. Approximately 98.6% of the vote had been counted.
The margin widened Wednesday after election officials in Hinds County, home to Jackson, counted additional ballots.
Of the 2,426 affidavit ballots cast in the county, officials accepted 817 and rejected 1,609, according to Mississippi Today. Democracy Docket reported that Colom received 703 votes from the accepted ballots, compared with 96 for Hyde-Smith.
Despite CNN's projection, the Associated Press had not called the race as of Wednesday afternoon, and Hyde-Smith had not publicly conceded.
"We are still counting votes," Hyde-Smith told reporters Tuesday (November 10), according to WAPT, while expressing confidence in the outcome.
Mississippi counties have until Friday (November 13) to certify their results. The state does not provide automatic recounts for U.S. Senate races, but candidates can examine ballot materials after certification and challenge disputed ballots in court.
Colom has served as district attorney for Mississippi's 16th Circuit Court District since 2016, representing Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee and Oktibbeha counties.
He first made history in 2015 when he defeated longtime District Attorney Forrest Allgood, becoming the first Black person elected to the position in that district.
Colom and Hyde-Smith also have a political history. In 2023, Hyde-Smith blocked his nomination to a federal judgeship after then-President Joe Biden selected him for the position.
Hyde-Smith has represented Mississippi in the Senate since 2018, when she was appointed to replace retiring Sen. Thad Cochran. She subsequently won a special election that year.
The projected outcome would mark a major political shift in Mississippi, a state President Donald Trump carried by nearly 23 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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