Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith on Wednesday in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race, becoming the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction.
Viral Campaign Ad
The race drew national attention after Hyde-Smith, 67, suggested that consumers could choose other proteins when pressed on high beef prices. Colom responded with a campaign advertisement featuring Russ Hudson of Columbus, Mississippi, grilling burgers and reacting to the comment.
“Pick another protein, sheeeit,” Hudson said in the spot, tipping his head back. “I’d rather pick another senator instead.”
The ad was viewed more than 20 million times on X alone, according to CNN. Hudson said he initially thought the video would receive very few views.
I’m at the ATL airport and my @Delta flight has been continuously delayed because they can’t find another pilot. It’s midnight and they don’t know when or if they’ll find another pilot but won’t give out hotel vouchers until the flight is cancelled, which they can’t say when…
“I never expected it to do what it did,” Hudson told CNN.
Scott Colom Wins Historic Senate Seat Through Campaign Strategy
Democrat Scott Colom made history by securing his election to the United States Senate, becoming Mississippi’s first Black senator since the late 19th century. During his campaign, the 43-year-old local prosecutor capitalized on the state’s substantial Black population, widespread discontent regarding the economy, and missteps by his opponent as she sought a second full term.
When Hyde-Smith brushed off high beef prices by stating that consumers could choose other proteins, Colom cut a 30-second spot depicting incredulous voters declaring they would pick another senator instead. Ryan Sayles served as the creative mind behind the production, instructing individuals reading the lines to drag them out so audiences could truly feel the emotion, while also selecting a backing track featuring “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang.
In the closing stretch of his campaign, Colom stood in the driveway of the house that once belonged to Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader assassinated by a white supremacist in 1963 while holding T-shirts bearing the words “Jim Crow Must Go.” Colom said that Evers was killed for helping Mississippians vote. His campaign also featured a Halloween parody called “Sinators” that humorously cast his opponent in a different light.
She done lost her damn mind. pic.twitter.com/wHPt4PSAob
The Associated Press called the contest on Wednesday evening following a prolonged ballot-counting process that involved election officials tallying affidavit and mail-in ballots more than a week after Election Day. Colom narrowly defeated the incumbent Republican senator, with the race call marking one of the most stunning upsets of the midterm elections.
Colom Gains Support in Traditionally Republican Counties
While Colom swept areas that traditionally leaned left, such as Hinds County where the state capital of Jackson is located, he also picked up regions that have traditionally voted Republican. These included Forrest County—which Donald Trump won in 2024 with approximately 58 percent of the vote—as well as Jefferson Davis County.
To reach voters across the state, Colom walked the line of Trump supporters outside the gates when the former president came to Corinth, Mississippi, for a rally, introducing himself, asking about their concerns, and explaining his priorities.
His appearance outside the event tracked his strategy of criticizing Trump’s policies, particularly tariffs and the Iran war that he argued were hard on Mississippi farmers, without taking personal jabs at the president or his voters. Instead, he framed Hyde-Smith as a non-entity in Washington.
The outcome contributed to a decisive midterm rebuke of Donald Trump, whose party suffered defeats in several Republican-controlled states, supporting arguments that Democrats can win by targeting the American South. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer celebrated the victory on social media, writing that Colom was the only person who could have accomplished it, and the PAC associated with the Senate minority leader donated $1.2 million for advertising roughly two weeks prior to the election.
Former president Bill Clinton, a native Arkansan who campaigned alongside Colom days before the vote, addressed the senator-elect on social media to praise his belief in the promise of the state’s people. Governor Tate Reeves and other prominent political figures also offered congratulations. Taking the stage at Tougaloo College, a historically Black college, Colom celebrated the historic milestone as Mississippi’s first Black senator-elect since Reconstruction.
Medgar Evers was killed in his driveway because he refused to accept a Mississippi where some were denied the right to vote. He stood with thousands who marched, organized and sacrificed so future generations could have a voice. We owe it to them not to take that right for… pic.twitter.com/nEHTihVoIm
Mississippi History Shows Long Gap Between Black Senators
Mississippi's politics have long been defined by deep racial divisions. Historically, the state sent Hiram Revels in 1870 to fill one of two Senate seats left vacant after the Civil War, and Blanche Bruce later served a single term after being born into slavery in 1841. Those two figures remained the only Black senators from Mississippi until Colom’s historic victory. The state’s last Democratic senator was John Stennis, a staunch segregationist who opposed school integration, voted against the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, and tried to block the creation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In modern elections, roughly 40 percent of Mississippi residents are Black, yet the political makeup has largely consisted of white officials at both state and federal levels. According to the Movement Advancement Project’s ranking of voter access by state, Mississippi ranked dead last, and voting rights advocates said that the Black share of the electorate nevertheless increased by three points from 2024 to 2026.
Colom Wins Election by More than 5,000 Votes
Colom ultimately won the election by a margin of more than 5,000 votes with 99 percent of ballots counted, according to unofficial results. CNN exit polling indicated that Colom won 27 percent of the white vote and 97 percent of the Black vote.
“While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” Hyde-Smith said in a video message.
At some point, we have to talk about @CookPolitical and other “prognosticators” who had me and other southern candidates labeled as solid R for much of the campaign cycle. They made it much more difficult to fundraise and are part of the reason the South has been neglected for so…
