Democrat Scott Colom has become the first Black U.S. senator from Mississippi in nearly 150 years after defeating Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith in a special election .

The Associated Press called the tight race in Colom's favor on Wednesday after local officials spent several days processing absentee and provisional ballots. The margin was fewer than 5,000 votes . Mississippi has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1982, and its last Black senator, Blanche K. Bruce, left office in 1881 .

Colom, 43, is a district attorney from Columbus, Mississippi, where his family has lived for seven generations. His father ran for state treasurer as a Republican in 1987, and his mother became the first Black woman elected as a Chancery Court judge in their district. He earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 2009 .

In 2011, he became the youngest and first Black judge appointed to the local court in his county. He later served as the first Black city prosecutor of Columbus. In 2015, he was elected district attorney of Mississippi's 16th judicial district, the first Black prosecutor elected in a majority-white district in state history . As a prosecutor, he pursued strict sentences for violent offenders and therapy programs for non-violent first offenders .

In 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Colom for a federal judgeship in the Northern District of Mississippi, but Hyde-Smith blocked the nomination, citing campaign donations from a George Soros-funded committee and his stance on transgender athletes. Colom announced his Senate candidacy in September 2025 .

According to the Associated Press, Colom ran a successful underdog campaign that capitalized on voter discontent with the economy, high living costs, and Trump's Iran war and tariffs that hurt Mississippi farmers . Early on, he sometimes spoke to groups of ten people. A viral moment came when Hyde-Smith, asked about high meat prices, suggested choosing other proteins; Colom's team turned this into the slogan "Why not just elect a different senator" . About one-third of Mississippi's population is Black, so Colom also needed white voters to win.

Last month, Colom walked the line of supporters waiting to enter a Trump rally in Corinth, Mississippi, introducing himself and asking about their concerns. Trump initially called him a "Marxist radical" at the event but later praised him on Stephen A. Smith's "Straight Shooter" podcast, saying, "I give him a lot of credit for that" .

Colom, a Christian, said his faith helped him persevere: "For me this journey began with a prayer. In Mississippi our prayers have often changed the course of history." His final campaign video showed him in front of the home of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, murdered in 1963 for advocating Black voting rights. In Washington, he plans to push for a higher minimum wage and different tariff policy, and he does not rule out working with Trump .

He is married to Nadia and has two daughters, Lucy and Maddie, who appeared with him in campaign ads .