Mississippi elects first Black US Senator since post-Civil War Reconstruction

Democratic nominee Scott Colom defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith on Wednesday in Mississippi's closely contested US Senate race after a prolonged ballot counting process, giving the state its first Black US senator since post-Civil War Reconstruction.

Colom's narrow victory is a seismic shift in Mississippi, which has been controlled mostly by white conservatives for generations despite having the largest share of Black residents of any US state. The outcome adds to a decisive midterm rebuke of President Donald Trump, whose party suffered defeats in several Republican-controlled states, and it will bolster some Democrats' argument that their future runs through the American South.

“All I did was have the courage to imagine a night like this,” Colom told a crowd of hundreds who gathered at Tougaloo College for his victory party. “I had the courage to believe in Mississippi. I had the courage to understand that we can show the country that Mississippi matters.”

The Associated Press called the race in Colom's favor after local officials spent several days processing absentee and provisional ballots, called affidavit ballots in Mississippi.

The last time Mississippi chose a new Democratic senator was 1947; the winner was a staunch segregationist. Colom, a 43-year-old local prosecutor, capitalised on the state's large Black population, discontent with the economy and Hyde-Smith’s missteps as she sought a second full term.

“They actually deserve a senator that will listen to them, that actually cares about what they think, actually cares about what they’re going through,” Colom said in the campaign's closing stretch.

Hyde-Smith, 67, called Colom late Wednesday afternoon to concede and released a concession speech online shortly afterward.

“While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” Hyde-Smith said. “I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state.”

Colom said during the campaign that he could represent all of Mississippi, a state where racial divisions have long defined its politics and society, and he repeated that pledge after his victory.

“My commitment to you, each and every one of you, is that first I’m going to treat your children like I want my children to be treated,” Colom said. “I’m going to treat your parents the way I want my parents to be treated. I’m gonna treat your future the way I want my future to be” and “work to make every Mississippian’s life better.”

Colom called on Mississippi's history

The senator-elect concluded his campaign with an ad that featured him at the Jackson home of Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader who, in 1963, was gunned down in his driveway by a white supremacist.

Colom told the story of Evers' military service at Normandy in World War II, his voter registration efforts in Mississippi, his assassination and the three decades it took to win a conviction. “He was killed for helping Mississippians vote,” Colom said. “On Tuesday, use your vote and honour everyone who died for that right.”

At the lectern Wednesday night, Colom said it was appropriate that the race be called on Veterans Day, as he again paid tribute to Evers.

“He served his country, came home to Mississippi, and they wouldn’t let him vote,” Colom said. “But he had faith that Mississippi could make progress."