Hyde-Smith Concedes Mississippi Senate Race to Scott Colom, Saying She Respects Voters' Decision

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith conceded Mississippi's U.S. Senate race to Democrat Scott Colom on Wednesday after more than a week of ballot counting, RedState reported. She called Colom to concede, according to a CNN report cited by RedState that relied on the Colom campaign, and released a statement accepting the result. ^[1]

"I respect the decision of Mississippi voters," Hyde-Smith said in the statement, which acknowledged it was not the outcome her campaign had worked and hoped for, according to RedState. ^[1] She congratulated Colom, wished him well and called serving the people of Mississippi one of the greatest honors of her life. ^[1]

The Associated Press projected Wednesday that Colom will win the seat. With 99 percent of the expected vote counted, Colom led 49.2 percent to 48.7 percent, a margin of about 4,700 votes, ABC News reported. ^[2] Decision Desk HQ also called the race Wednesday evening, RedState reported. ^[1]

A Historic Result

Colom, 43, is a local prosecutor, Le Monde reported. ^[6] RedState identified him as the district attorney for Mississippi's 16th Circuit Court District. ^[1] He will be the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since 1982 and the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction, CNBC reported. ^[4] He is expected to be sworn in in January, according to Al Jazeera. ^[3]

Colom campaigned on raising the minimum wage and protecting rural hospitals, Al Jazeera reported. ^[3] Le Monde reported that he drew on the state's large Black population and voters' frustration with the economy, and pointed to what it called Hyde-Smith's missteps during the campaign. ^[6]

How the Count Unfolded

More than 100,000 mail-in and provisional ballots were counted over more than a week, Al Jazeera reported. ^[3] Hyde-Smith had said she was confident she would win once every legally cast vote was fully and accurately counted. ^[3] When that count was finished, she accepted it. That is how a public servant should handle a loss: insist that every lawful ballot be counted, then respect the voters' verdict with grace.

The two candidates have history. Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's 2023 nomination to a federal judgeship over his position on transgender athletes, Al Jazeera reported. ^[3]

What It Means for the Senate

Colom's win is the eighth Senate seat Democrats have flipped this cycle, ABC News reported. ^[2] RedState put the incoming Senate at 55 Democrats and 44 Republicans, with only Alaska left to call. ^[1] In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by about 2,500 votes as of Tuesday, with nearly a quarter of the expected ballots still outstanding, Slate reported, citing the AP. ^[5]

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The Takeaway for Conservatives

President Trump carried Mississippi by just over 22 points in 2024, Al Jazeera reported, and Hyde-Smith campaigned with the President in the final stretch, according to RedState. ^[3][1] A loss of about half a point in a state that red is a sober warning: in a hard year no seat is safe, and turnout, mail ballots and kitchen-table economics decide races even in the Deep South.

Republicans will serve in the Senate minority come January. Their job now is to hold the line on the things Mississippi conservatives care about most, from life and religious liberty to farmers and the military, and to earn back voters' trust one county at a time. We wish Sen. Hyde-Smith well and thank her for her service to Mississippi.