Democrat Scott Colom wins Mississippi U.S. Senate election

As The Insider reports, citing CNN, after 99% of the votes were counted, Colom had 49.2%, while incumbent Republican senator Cindy Hyde-Smith had 48.7%. The margin was less than 5,000 votes, and Hyde-Smith conceded defeat and congratulated the Democrat on his victory.

Colom's victory gave Democrats the 55th seat in the 100-member U.S. Senate. He became the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction and the first Democrat to win a Senate race in the state since 1982.

The Mississippi race was considered one of the biggest surprises for Democrats in the November 3 midterm elections. Analysts did not see it as competitive and expected Hyde-Smith to win; she was backed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who visited the state a few days before the vote to campaign for her.

In the 2024 presidential election, Trump defeated the Democrats' candidate Kamala Harris in Mississippi by 22%. In 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Colom for the position of federal district judge, but in 2023 Hyde-Smith blocked his nomination.

Colom later said that he probably would not have run for the Senate if he had been confirmed as a judge. Under the rules, the nomination for district judge must be supported by both senators representing the state.

Sources

• Source: theins.ru