Colom's 4,669-vote lead secures Mississippi Senate seat for Democrats
The AP called the race for Democrat Scott Colom Wednesday after final updates showed a widening margin over Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, giving Democrats their biggest Senate gain since 1986.
By Samuel Hayes ·
The Associated Press declared Democrat Scott Colom the winner in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race on Wednesday at 5:58 p.m. ET. The call came after Jackson County officials added 2,173 votes to the total, expanding Colom’s lead to 4,669 votes out of 962,237 counted. That margin represents 0.5 percentage points.
Colom initially held a 43-vote advantage after the final election night update from Pike County arrived at 3:03 a.m. ET on Nov. 4. His lead grew as counties finished counting ballots and reviewed provisional votes, known locally as affidavit ballots. Colom won all 12 vote updates released by various counties on Wednesday. He captured these updates across every region of the state, including heavily Republican counties.
The race’s outcome hinged on performance in specific geographic areas. Colom drew strong support in the Democratic-leaning Jackson and Delta regions, where he received more than 67% of the vote. That is the highest share for a Democratic Senate, governor, or presidential candidate in that area in at least 10 years. In the Northeast and Southeast, Hyde-Smith trailed President Donald Trump’s 2024 vote share by more than 10 percentage points.
Incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith conceded the race in a social media video shortly after the AP called the election. Mississippi law does not mandate a recount for this margin. Hyde-Smith would need to persuade a court to order a review of the results. Since 2000, about 40 statewide elections have had recounts. Only three resulted in a change of winner, and all three were decided by hundreds of votes, not thousands.
County election officials have until Friday to certify results. The AP estimates fewer than 12,000 votes remain for review. Many of these are provisional ballots, some of which may not be counted after officials assess eligibility. Colom’s victory gives Democrats 55 seats in the new Senate. That is a net gain of eight seats and the party’s largest midterm increase in the chamber since 1986.
Democrats last held 55 Senate seats in 2014, before losing the majority in that year’s midterms. The AP credited Robert Yoon and Camille Baker with contributing to the report.
