For generations, Black Mississippians have made up a larger share of their state’s population than Black residents of any other state, yet the people representing them in Washington have been white. This November, that changed. Scott Colom has been elected to the U.S. Senate, and Mississippi will send its first Black senator to Washington since Reconstruction.
A Hard-Fought, Long-Awaited Victory
The Associated Press called the race on November 11 after local election officials spent several days processing absentee and provisional ballots. Colom, a 43-year-old local prosecutor, defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by a narrow margin. It is a seismic shift in a state long dominated by white conservatives, and it was a decisive rebuke of the president’s party in a midterm that also saw Republicans lose ground in other GOP-controlled states.
Strong turnout in the Mississippi Delta and its majority-Black counties was key, and nearly the whole state shifted left from 2024. Colom did what Mike Espy, Mississippi’s first Black congressman since Reconstruction, could not in his two losses to Hyde-Smith.
There is a bit of irony here. In 2022, President Biden nominated Colom to a federal judgeship in Mississippi, with support from Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and former Gov. Haley Barbour. Hyde-Smith blocked the nomination. Colom has said his Senate bid was never about getting even.
“Nobody Says They Shouldn’t Get a Chance”
Colom has been thoughtful about the weight of the moment. He has said he sees his role less as an individual story and more as a door held open for Mississippi’s youngest residents. His goal is to do the job well enough that when a young Black boy or girl dreams of becoming a senator, no one can point to anything he did as a reason they shouldn’t get the chance.
He Was Not Alone: Three More Historic Wins
Colom’s victory was part of a wave of firsts in the 2026 midterms. Here are three that stand out.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, Georgia. The Democrat defeated Republican Rick Jackson to become the first Black woman elected governor of any U.S. state. The former Atlanta mayor is also Georgia’s first woman governor. Her win builds on years of organizing by leaders like Stacey Abrams, the first Black woman nominated for governor by a major party in Georgia.
Byron Donalds, Florida. The Republican congressman became Florida’s first Black governor and the nation’s first elected Black Republican governor. His win shows that Black political leadership is not confined to one party.
Melat Kiros, Colorado. She won Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, becoming the first Black woman to represent Colorado in the U.S. House and the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress.
From History to Impact
Before the election, NBCI Trust noted that a record 72 Black women were on the midterm ballot, and that Black candidates were answering a question they have been asked for generations: where can you win? In Mississippi, voters gave their answer.
Representation matters because it changes who is in the room when decisions are made about schools, health care, housing and the economy. It does not replace showing up with a plan. The hard part now is turning these firsts into results for the communities that sent these leaders to office, and that work belongs to all of us, in how we stay informed, stay engaged and keep showing up between elections.
Stay Informed: Black voters can find registration help, voting resources and updates at nbcit.org/vote and the NBCI Trust Voter Advisory.
Congratulations to Senator-Elect Colom, and to every Black Mississippian who waited, organized and voted.