Democrat Scott Colom has defeated incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s US Senate race, ending a contest that remained too close to call for more than a week after election day.
Colom, a prosecutor, will become the state’s first Black senator in more than 140 years. Mississippi had not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982, according to The Guardian.
Only a few thousand votes separated the candidates. BBC reported that Colom won 49.2% of the vote to Hyde-Smith’s 48.7%, citing figures from CBS. An independent candidate received 2.1%.
Election officials continued counting ballots after the November 3 midterms, including provisional ballots. Hyde-Smith later congratulated Colom in a video posted on X and wished him well. “I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” she said.
