Democrat Scott Colom and Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith are locked in a tight race for a US Senate seat in Mississippi, a state that has not elected a Democratic candidate to the upper chamber in more than 40 years.
With 96% of votes counted by Wednesday morning, Colom was leading by fewer than 50 votes, with about 50,000 ballots still to be counted.
Hyde-Smith, the first woman to represent Mississippi in the US Congress, was elected in 2018 and has been endorsed by Donald Trump. The president won the state by more than 22 points in 2024.
If Colom wins the race, he would be the first black US senator elected in Mississippi since 1875.
The race comes as Democrats won control over both chambers of Congress, scoring victories in deep red states such as South Carolina, Texas and Kansas, which had not elected Democratic senators in decades.
On the campaign trail, Colom, a district attorney, focused his message on his Christian faith and plans to address economic concerns. He took aim at Trump’s policies including the war in Iran and the rising cost of living in the US.
Trump campaigned alongside Hyde-Smith last month, saying he was there “because Cindy’s doing great, but I just got to make sure. I can’t take a chance”.
Mississippi is a state home to the largest percentage of African Americans in the US, at nearly 40%, a group that overwhelmingly votes Democratic and reportedly showed up in large numbers this election.
