What was historic about Scott Colom’s 2026 election?

When Democrat Scott Colom narrowly defeated Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith to win a U.S. Senate seat from Mississippi in 2026, he became the first Black person elected to the body from that state since Reconstruction. Although his victory was a stunning upset in a state that Donald Trump had won by 23 points in the 2024 presidential election, Colom was always optimistic about his chances of winning. He told reporters, “I knew we could win. I knew that there were voters out there that loved our state more than they loved their political party.”