Democratic candidate Scott Colom beat Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's US Senate race after a prolonged ballot-counting process, the Associated Press projected on Wednesday.
The narrow victory makes Colom, 43, the state's first Black US senator since post-Civil War Reconstruction and the first new Democratic senator chosen by Mississippi since 1947.
During the campaign, Colom promised to represent all of Mississippi, a state where racial divisions have long defined its politics and society.
"It's got to be about having a party that represents rural America again, suburban America, urban America — a party that makes sure we actually deliver for voters in ways that make their lives better," he said.
The southern US state of Mississippi has been controlled mostly by white conservatives for generations.
The Mississippi victory gives the Democrats a 55-44 advantage in the 100-member Senate. The winner of the Senate race in Alaska remains to be determined. The Democrats also won control of the House of Representatives, having gained 41 seats so far and holding a 254-to-168 advantage, with 13 races yet to be called.
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Mississippi election officials have been counting ballots for over a week in a race so close that Colom led by only a few…
