Democrat Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate race in upset

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According to reporting by CBS News US Politics, Democrat Scott Colom defeated GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in the Mississippi Senate race, delivering Democrats an eighth flipped Senate seat after the dramatic race had been up in the air for days.

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Washington — Democrat Scott Colom defeated GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in the Mississippi Senate race, CBS News projects, delivering Democrats an eighth flipped Senate seat after the dramatic race had been up in the air for days.

Colom, 43, is a district attorney and seventh-generation Mississippian. He campaigned on cost-of-living and healthcare issues, while pledging to deliver for the Magnolia State where he argued Hyde-Smith hasn't. And he saw support from top surrogates like former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris, who joined Colom on the campaign trail in the weeks leading up to Election Day.

Hyde-Smith, 67, has been in the Senate since 2018, and was the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Congress.

The race became surprisingly competitive in deep-red Mississippi, heating up in the final weeks of the campaign. National Democrats announced last month that they were investing in ad spending in the race for the first time, and the Cook Political Report changed its rating from solidly Republican to leaning Republican, as the headwinds that faced Republicans across the map — an unpopular war in Iran and persistent affordability issues — even made their way to reliably red states.

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Information in this article was compiled directly from records provided by CBS News US Politics. Access the primary source document at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mississippi-2026-senate-scott-colom-cindy-hyde-smith/. Reporting and editorial review conducted by the USA NOW News Desk.