Democrat Scott Colom will upset Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, The Related Press projected Wednesday, flipping a Republican seat in a ruby-red state.
With 99% of the anticipated vote reported, Colom leads with 49.2%, and Hyde-Smith has 48.7% of the vote, with Colom main by about 4,700 votes.
Colom’s win is the eighth Democratic pickup within the Senate with the race in Alaska but to be determined.
*** BESTPIX *** JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI – NOVEMBER 4: District Legal professional and U.S. Senate candidate for Mississippi Scott Colom speaks as he offers an replace on state of Senate race towards Cindy Hyde-Smith November 4, 2026 in Jackson, Mississippi. Colom And Hyde-Smith are nearly deadlocked in state’s senate race as poll counting continues.
Rogelio V. Solis/Getty Photographs
Hyde-Smith has known as Colom to concede, a marketing campaign spokesperson confirmed to ABC Information.
In a video posted on her marketing campaign account Wednesday night, Hyde-Smith stated, “Whereas this isn’t the result we labored for or hoped for, I respect the choice of Mississippi voters. I need to congratulate Scott Colom and want him nicely as he takes on the large duty of representing our nice state.”
Colom is a district lawyer for 4 counties alongside the Mississippi-Alabama state line and a former nominee to change into a U.S. district choose. He will likely be Mississippi’s first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction.
Whereas his marketing campaign had initially been seen as an extended shot, Colom constructed up extra buzz in the previous couple of months of the marketing campaign, showing with main get together figures corresponding to former President Invoice Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris. He additionally went viral with a marketing campaign video the place he mocked Hyde-Smith over feedback she made about selecting different choices for proteins due to excessive beef costs.
Hyde-Smith, who was working for a second full time period, campaigned with President Donald Trump throughout a rally in October and insisted she was the best selection for the state.
Colom and Hyde-Smith had some historical past even earlier than Colom’s Senate run, as she blocked his nomination for federal choose in 2023, though Colom has stated he has forgiven her for doing so.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith addresses supporters at her victory get together in Flowood, Miss., Nov. 3, 2026.
Rogelio V. Solis/Mississippi Free Press by way of AP
Colom instructed ABC Information in an interview after Election Day that his marketing campaign did not get a lot consideration or assets exterior Mississippi till a couple of month in the past as a result of some in his get together could not fathom that Democrats might flip a Senate seat within the Magnolia State.
He says that pressured him to construct a floor recreation which took him to many areas of the state and put him face-to-face with a number of voters. He stated lots of these voters gravitated in the direction of him as a result of they had been uninterested in damaged guarantees in Washington.
“The voters had been betrayed. That gave us a possibility to compete all over the place. And for me, I wasn’t afraid to name that out, and I wasn’t additionally afraid to say what I used to be going to do,” he stated.
Each campaigns and their related political events had indicated after Election Day, because the margin between them remained tight, that they had been prepared for potential litigation within the race, significantly over provisional ballots that each side estimated might quantity within the 1000’s.
