Colom flips Mississippi Senate, Dems win 55 seats

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(The Center Square) - Democratic candidate Scott Colom flipped Mississippi’s U.S. Senate seat, bringing the upper chamber to a 55 seat Democrat majority.

Colom flipped Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s seat in Congress with 49.2% of the vote, according to the Associated Press on Wednesday. He is the first Black person to win a statewide election in the state since 1873.

Colom's win brings Democrats to 55 seats in the upper chamber of Congress after flipping seven races across the county so far. The race for U.S. Senate in Alaska also remains to be called as ballots are counted between Sen. Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola. 

Colom focused his campaign on slamming Hyde-Smith for her support of the Trump administration’s tariff policies. He said he would vote to rein in Trump's tariff authority. 

“The tariffs are a sales tax. They’re a tax on everything. And we’ve been paying more because of those tariffs,” Colom said in an interview with a local news station. “We need a fighter from Mississippi that’s going to join the effort to put some balance in our government.”

The two candidates held personal disagreements as well. Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi in 2022 using a Senate privilege. He was nominated by President Joe Biden. 

"I blocked Scott Colom from being a federal judge, and you blocked him from being a U.S. Senator," Hyde-Smith said in a speech on Election Day before the race came under further review. 

The race showed razor-thin margins and a prolonged counting process as it became clear that provisional ballots would determine the winner. County officials across the state worked to cure ballots and verify validity. 

Election officials were required to resolve issues with ballot certification by Tuesday. 

Colom will come to Congress at a time where Democrats have sweeping power in both chambers. However, the party does not hold a veto-proof majority and will likely need to work with President Trump to pass legislation. 

"Congratulations to Senator-Elect Scott Colom on his historic win and on becoming the first Democrat to win a Mississippi Senate seat in over four decades," the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said in a statement. "We will work hand in hand with Scott to fight for Mississippians’ health care, costs, and future in the 120th Congress and look forward to welcoming him to our caucus."