Dem Scott Colom flips Mississippi Senate seat, CNN projects

CNN is now projecting the Mississippi Senate race  and CNN is projecting that Democratic candidate. Scott Colom will win that race. Democrats now  gaining their 55th US Senate seat with a Scott. Colom victory over Republican incumbent Senator  Cindy Hyde Smith. Colom's vote count lead grew. after a key county this afternoon just finished  its vote. It is worth taking a moment to recognize. that this win for Cologne is not only a major  upset, not only a big victory for him personally,

not only a big victory for the Mississippi  Democratic Party and the National Democratic. Party, this is a remarkable moment in American  history. Scott Cologne will become the very first. black man elected as a senator in Mississippi  since the reconstruction era more than 140 years. ago. That senator was Blanch Bruce, elected  back in 1874. He had been born into slavery. After emancipation, when black men finally  got the right to vote, some southern states,

including Mississippi, were close to majority  black. So, it was actually more common back. then for black Americans such as Blanch Bruce to  be elected to local, state, and federal office. But as we all know, as time went on, white  southern Democrats changed this political. landscape through a combination of violent  intimidation, withdrawal of federal protection, systemic voter disenfranchisement, and murder.  And eventually, Mississippi, in particular,

earned a reputation as the most dangerous and  repressive state for black people, ground zero for. civil rights offenses during the midentth century.  Mississippi is a state that saw hundreds of. people, black people, killed or lynched during the  Jim Crow and civil rights eras. Infamously among. them EMTT Till, 14-year-old boy who was abducted,  tortured, and lynched. All for allegedly, and probably it wasn't even true, whistling  at a white woman. That was 1955. Megar Evers,

an NAACP official assassinated in the driveway of  his home in Jackson, Mississippi. That was 1963. James Cheney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner,  three civil rights workers there to register. African-Americans to vote, murdered by members of  the clan in 1964. I could go on. So often justice. for these crimes was fleeting, if at all. The  infamous violence in Mississippi inspired Nina.

Simone's song titled Mississippi, Godamn. Tell  me. I'll tell you. Me and my people just about. do. I've been there. So I know. They keep on  saying go slow. They keep on saying go slow. Go slow. Nina Simone wrote that in 1963. Here  we are now in the year of our Lord 2026. It's. not as though racism or the impacts of oppression  have completely dissipated from the state. That.

ignorance remains. The pain is still evident. You  can still hear it in the blues music birthed there. or videos from key cameras on the campus of the  University of Mississippi. And yet, right now, in the very same state of Mississippi, something  remarkable has just happened. Voters, white, black, all other colors, are sending a black man  to the United States Senate to represent all their.

interests. Let's go now to CNN's Annie Grayer in  Hines County, Mississippi. one of the state's most. populous counties where ballot counting has been  happening all day. And Annie, you've been there. on the ground in Mississippi since election day 8  days ago. This projection is a long time coming. It really is. And Scott Colom's message has been  Mississippi matters. He has wanted the world, the Democratic party to see what Democrats could  do in the state of Mississippi. He's talked a lot. about how he felt like the party, the the country  had counted him out, that he was facing an uphill.

battle, that he wasn't getting the attention that  this deserved. But he says he put in the work with. countless town halls and meetings and really  focusing on turning out young black voters. And. I've spoken to so many voters in the last week,  especially black women, who have worked tirelessly. to build this campaign to be the backbone of this  effort. Because while Democrats have not sent.

someone to the US Senate in nearly four decades,  have not sent a black man to the US Senate in. Mississippi since the reconstruction era, there  were people on the ground here who had been. saying that they thought that this victory was  possible. And Colom has been saying for days that. as more votes came in, he felt like his lead was  only going to increase and that Cindy Hidesmith. did not have a path for victory. We're here in  one of the most populous counties in the state, a Democrat stronghold. And we witnessed today  the remainder of the ballots that needed to.

be counted, these provisional ballots. And we  saw that there was an unprecedented number of. provisional ballots in this election. There  were a lot of questions for the Mississippi. Secretary of State about what happened there.  And there were a number of ballots that were. rejected today. There were 2,426 total affidavit  ballots, which is what they're called in the state. of Mississippi. Only 817 of them were accepted.  1,609 of them were rejected. And so there are. a lot of questions as to why it was so difficult  for so many people to vote. But Colom has kept up.

the energy since election day. He's held multiple  events. He's wanted to showcase local businesses, whether it was a blackowned bookstore or a record  store or a college campus. He has wanted to get. out and about and showcase for the world to  see as everyone was watching this Senate race. very closely what he would what he would do as US  senator. And now that we have projected this race. and he has won this race, it is only a matter  of time before he heads to Washington and gets.

to represent all of Mississippians. Remarkable  moment. Annie Greyer, thank you so much. You did. such a great job for us in Mississippi. Thank you  so much for that great reporting. Let's discuss. the latest with Charles Taylor. He's executive  director of the Mississippi NAACP. Uh Charles, your reaction to this historic projection. and  Scott Colom will be the next US senator from the. great state of Mississippi. Did you ever think you  would see this day? Oh, absolutely. It's because.

I have deep faith and is also I recognize this is  150 years in the making. Also know the people of. Mississippi have been working tirelessly election  after election after election. And so if you want. to tell the story of Mississippi, the story is  we've been chipping away from this for a while. Mississippi is not just about a moral argument.  It has been simple math and finally we see that. have come to fruition. Absolutely. This has  been more than a century in the making. But I.

also have to note Scott Colom just as a political  observer. He is a political talent. Uh, I mean, his ability, I keep thinking about um his ads,  which were clever and cut to the quick when it. came to Cindy Hyde Smith's gaff about people who  can't afford meat should seek other proteins. That. clever ad he did for Halloween where he and his  twin brother were the brothers from the movie. Sinners. But most most impressively when he went  to the parking lot of a Trump rally and interacted.

with Trump fans and talked to them about who he  was and what he believed. He is a real talent. 1,000%. You know, Scott is the real deal. Uh I  remember when he ran for DA the first time, uh. he was somebody who looked at the electorate with  surgical precision to say, "How do I get out and. engage folks, even those who may not believe what  I believe?" because he cares about Mississippi. We saw that in his in his race this year. We saw  that in the campaign. He had an incredible network.

of young people around him. His campaign manager  Gerard Henderson, content creator, Ryan Sales, who had a lot to do with those ads you saw.  The thing I really appreciated about Scott. is that he recognized in order to invest in the  Mississippi electorate, he had to meet the people. where they are. And so he met him online and  then they met him at the polls. and now I can. call him my new US senator. The NAACP said that  Mississippians have turned out to vote despite.

the state having some of the most restrictive  voting laws uh in the country. Uh in your view, what is the give me two or three things that need  to change in order to have it easier for legal. citizens eligible to vote to be able to do so? You  know, it would have been really exciting to for. this election to have been called on Tuesday, but  I believe it was providential that it was a week. and a day later because the eyes of the country  recognize all of the things that happened that.

need to transpire in in order for us to change  our uh election systems. You know, one, we need. online voter registration. A lot of the affidavit  ballots were young people who took the time out. to register to vote only to get to a polling place  for the first time and to be said that their name. was not on the poll. Secondly, we should have  same day voter registration. And finally, we. need early voting. It is crazy to me that in 2026,  you only have u you know election day in the state.

of Mississippi to vote in person unless you have  an excuse. We can change these things. We need to. make sure that every Mississippian eligible uh has  the right and the ease to vote. And that's what. we're going to continue to fight for this year.  That's what we're going to fight for next year. And as you see changes happening in Mississippi,  I'm confident that we're going to see a growing. participating electorate. Charles Taylor, thanks  again. The breaking news. CNN projecting Democrat. Scott Cologne will win the Senate race in the  state of Mississippi. That's not a mistake. That's.

actually what I'm saying. Mississippi. Mississippi  just elected a black Democrat to the Senate.