Democrat candidate Scott Colom leads Mississippi Senate race

Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in the Mississippi Senate race, potentially becoming the state's first Black senator in 145 years.

Election officials in DeSoto County are currently counting mail-in ballots and determining the validity of remaining votes to finalize the results. The race represents a major shift in the political landscape of Mississippi, a state that historically elected white politicians to the Senate. The last Black senator from the state left Washington in 1881.

While nearly 40 percent of the state's residents are Black, the highest percentage of any U.S. state, the area has remained a Republican stronghold. Annette Hollowell, a local landowner and civil rights advocate, attributes the current progress to decades of organizing and the legacy of the 1964 Freedom Summer. She notes that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a key milestone in the ongoing effort to mobilize communities and secure voting rights against historical discrimination.

The results contrast sharply with previous elections. During the last presidential election, Donald Trump won by a margin of over 24 percentage points in northern Mississippi. In the current Senate race, Colom holds a lead of roughly 30 percentage points over Hyde-Smith. Some local residents expressed opposition to the Democratic shift, citing concerns over communism and religious freedom.