Democrat Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate seat in historic upset

Democrat Scott Colom has won the US Senate race in Mississippi, becoming the first Black senator elected from the southern US state in more than 140 years, US networks projected on Wednesday.Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney, defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. It was perhaps the most remarkable seat flip of a midterm election in which Democrats won back the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.CNN, NBC and CBS called the race on Wednesday, eight days after election night. With about 99 per cent of the vote counted, Colom led Hyde-Smith by 49.2 per cent to 48.7 per cent, a margin of 4,585 votes.“Mississippi, our prayers have often changed the course of history,” Colom told a jubilant crowd of supporters in Jackson, the state capital, on Wednesday night. “God didn’t want us to get it the easy way. He wanted us to get it the Mississippi way.”In a prayerful, solemn speech, he paid tribute to Mississippi’s long tradition of Black activism and faith in progress.He will also be the first Democratic senator from Mississippi in nearly 40 years.Hyde-Smith, 67, who has held the seat since 2018, conceded in a video posted on X.“While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” she said.