How Scott Colom flipped Mississippi blue

senator from Mississippi in nearly 150 years. And I want to tell you about the last black. senator from that state. His name was Blanche Bruce. Bruce was born into slavery. in 1841. He was the son of an enslaved woman. and her enslaver. Bruce received an education from his father. and gained his freedom. At the outset of the Civil War, he was rejected by the Union Army. But by the beginning of Reconstruction, he'd become a successful business owner.

and a county official in Boulevard County. in the northern part of the Mississippi Delta. In 1874, Blanche Bruce became the second. African-American in U .S. history elected to the Senate. Now this was in an era in which senators were. elected. by state legislators, not by popular vote. Bruce would become the first. and only formerly enslaved person to preside. over the Senate chamber. But by 1875, he knew that he would not. serve another term. Because by then, white southerners who were. furious.

with reconstruction used a combination. of voter intimidation and fraud. and violence to win back political power. in the Mississippi state elections. In an address to the Senate after those 1875 elections, Bruce was unwavering in his belief. that black Americans, despite the material losses they faced, quote, no consideration of fear or possible, or personal danger has kept us quiet. and forbearing under the provocations. and wrongs that have so sorely tried our souls. I have confidence not only in this country.

and her institutions, but in the endurance capacity, and destiny of my people. Whatever our ultimate position. in the composite civilization of the. Republic, and whatever varying fortunes attend our career, we will not forget our instincts for freedom, nor our love of country. The collapse of Reconstruction meant. the silencing of black political power. across the South. Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses.

They all meant that African Americans. were prevented from exercising. their constitutional rights for decades. After Blanche Bruce left office in 1881, the next black U .S. senator anywhere in the United States. would not be elected until 1967, three years after the Civil Rights Act. was signed into law. Only 14 Black Americans have ever served. in the Senate in all of U .S. history. In between Bruce Blanche, top left,

and the election of Scott Cologne tonight, no others have hailed from the state. of Mississippi. This Despite Mississippi having. the highest concentration. of African Americans in the entire country, 37 percent of the state is black. Mississippi's state election system has yet to. shake off the cobwebs of the Jim Crow era. It's one of three states which doesn't permit. early voting. The state employs a faulty system which removes. legitimate voters from the voter rolls, and in this election we've seen all sorts. of flaws in Mississippi's vote counting methods.

And yet, Scott Colombe won. I've been telling everybody everywhere I go. that we're going to win this election. I would say it eight and nine months ago, but every time I said it I pointed out. that people were going to give me too. much credit for it. because it's not something that idea. y'all is something that we did.

All I did was have the courage to imagine. a night like this. I had the courage to believe in Mississippi. I have the courage to understand. that we can show the country. that Mississippi matters. At a Democratic fundraising event back in April, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock told the crowd.

that his party was sleeping on something big, the Mississippi Senate race. The crowd laughed. Mississippi hadn't elected a Democrat to. statewide office in decades. Donald Trump had won the state three times. with double-digit margins. Republicans controlled the governor's seat. and the state legislature. There was even talk about redrawing the. congressional. map there to unseat Benny Thompson, the lone Democratic member. of the state's congressional delegation. In other words, common wisdom said. that Mississippi was a deep-red. Republican stronghold. and few people took Warnock THE CANDIDATE WHO.

MISSISSIPPI. DEMOCRATS CHOSE AS THEIR SENATE. NOMINEE HAD DEFIED HISTORY AND. EXPECTATIONS BEFORE. COLUMB IS A SEVENTH GENERATION. MISSISSIPPIAN. IN 2015, HE RAN FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN A. MAJORITY WHITE DISTRICT AGAINST AN. INCUMBENT WHO HAD BEEN ON THE JOB FOR 26 YEARS. CULOMB WON. THIS YEAR HE DECIDED TO MOUNT ANOTHER CHALLENGE. HE CHOSE TO RUN AGAINST MISSISSIPPI SENATOR. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who'd been in office since 2018. Cologne was the clear underdog, but he ran a smart and steady campaign.

When Hyde-Smith gave a flippant answer. about the high price of beef, Cologne seized on it and turned it. into an instantly viral campaign ad. The price of beef continuing to go up. You know, you have so many proteins. to choose from. Pick another protein? Shit, I'd rather pick another senator instead. Pick another protein. She done lost her damn mind. I'd rather pick another senator. Pick another protein?

What. THAT AD CAUGHT FIRE. CALLOB RENAMED HIS OPPONENT CINDY HIGH PRICES. AND PEOPLE STARTED PAYING REAL ATTENTION. TO THE RACE, INCLUDING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. IN MID-OCTOBER, SHORTLY AFTER. THAT AD SPREAD ACROSS THE STATE AND THE INTERNET, THE SENATE MAJORITY PACK FINALLY STARTED. INVESTING IN MISSISSIPPI SENATE RACE, SPENDING $1 .2 MILLION IN ADS AGAINST HYDE SMITH. SOME THOUGHT IT WAS TOO LATE TO MAKE A. DIFFERENCE. CALLON WASN'T INTIMIDATED BY THE FACT. THAT HE WAS RUNNING AGAINST A TRUMP ALLY.

IN TRUMP TERRITORY EITHER. INSTEAD, HE REACHED OUT TO THOSE. VOTERS THE PRESIDENT HAD A RALLY FOR. HYDE SMITH IN MISSISSIPPI ONE WEEK. BEFORE THE ELECTION, COLOMB ATTENDED THAT RALLY. HE WALKED THE LINE. HE SPOKE TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS. FACE-TO-FACE ABOUT THEIR CONCERNS. AND THAT TOO caught people's attention. and helped him build more momentum. in the final days of the race. But history was on Cologne's mind as well. Black Mississippians had experienced racism. and violence and numerous efforts to take away. their voice and THEM AND THEIR VOTES.

THEY INVOKED THAT HISTORY IN THE FINAL AD. OF HIS CAMPAIGN WHICH HE FILMED IN FRONT. OF THE HOUSE OF MEDGAR EVERS IN JACKSON, MISSISSISSIPPI. IN THE AD, COLOB TOLD THE. story of how Evers helped to register black. people to vote and was killed because of it. Coulomb's victory has shocked millions. of people across the country, partly because of what a watershed moment. this is. in American politics. But one person who's not I'M NOT SHOCKED. BY THIS OUTCOME, WHO ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT MISSISSIPPI. HAD THE POTENTIAL TO FLIP BLUE AND THAT. HE COULD HARNESS THE POWER TO.

MAKE IT HAPPEN. HERE'S WHAT HE TOLD ME WHEN I INTERVIEWED HIM. FIVE DAYS before the election. Ali, Mississippi is much easier to win. than people expect. I know people across the country are. going to be shocked. They're probably going to give me too. much credit. But the reality is we've been making. progress in Mississippi. that people haven't paid attention to. You know who else wasn't surprised? Simone Sanders Townsend, co-host of MS Now's The. Weeknight, who has literally, look, I'm the chief data reporter. here. and Simone has been telling me for months,

you're not covering Mississippi enough. You've got to tell the story of Mississippi. So you're there and you are one. of the people who thought this was possible. and I would almost argue you likely. Yes, thank you, Ali. I appreciate you bringing. the receipts. I am here. I'm talking to you from the campus. of Tougaloo College and behind me, folks are packing up from that victory rally. that we covered right here on this network.

During the rally, I had a chance to talk to a. bunch. of folks in the audience. I was I wiggled my way in and I am set. on the ground. in front of the section for the veterans. Today is Veterans Day, obviously, in this country and I watched the men. and women white black who had served. this country sit there in awe to watch. the first black senator to ever be elected. in Mississippi's history give these remarks.

And in speaking to folks after, I asked them how do they feel? They say we're excited. We knew this could happen. And the work had been happening on the ground. I caught up with Benny Thompson, the congressman, the dean as folks call him of the Democratic. delegation here. in Mississippi. And he actually spoke tonight, Scott Colom spoke, Senator-elect Colom spoke about him this evening. And Benny Thompson, the congressman, introduced the senator-elect. I asked him afterwards how did he feel? I was watching him as the senator-elect was. talking about him. I could see him from my little vantage point.

on the ground. And he looked like he was moved. And afterwards, he said, you know, it's like seeing my son. Seeing my son come full circle. And Benny Thompson talked about. the leadership institute. that they built on the ground here. in Mississippi that made leaders. like Scott Cologne possible. I'm told he was one of the first, he was in the first class of the Mississippi. Black Leadership Institute and the bench. that they have been building here in. Mississippi,

the organizing work that has been going down. here on the ground in Mississippi. and across the south really is the reason. for this win today. So people here are jubilant, they're excited, but they also know that there is more work to. come and they're ready for it. Yeah, you know, Scott Coloman said he said. it to you, he said it to me, people are going to give me. too. much credit for it. He's acknowledging the fact that something was done. In fact, he said that the path had been. paved for him. And Benny Thompson, you make a great point there. Benny Thompson told him, you win this state by.

campaigning. Go out. He said touch as many people as you can. Talk to as many people as you can. Listen to as many people as you can. And then you see Scott Cologne going. out to a Trump rally, talking to people in the audience. They're taking selfies with him. I think one man at least said, I like you. I'm going to vote for you. And this guy was like out of central casting. Trump.

This past, it feels like so long ago. But this past weekend, I was at Crooked Con in. Washington, D .C. Eugene and I did a live taping of our podcast. And then we did a Q &A in the MS. Now members lounge afterwards. from people who were there at Crooked Con, you know, just to talk. about the election. And a woman in the Q &A, she raised her hand. and asked a question. But before she asked the question, she stated, you know, it feels dangerous to hope right now. And Eugene gave such a great answer and built.

upon the comment that she made. And I was thinking about that. as I was walking around Tougaloo College. here today. For some people, it feels dangerous to hope. right now. because they can't believe that this progress is. possible. But for folks like Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, Benny Thompson, right? The young people right here on this campus of Tougaloo. college, the Mississippi votes organizers, LaTosha Brown. Hope is all they have had. The people in Mississippi, the people across the South,

hope is all they've had. Hope is what has carried them. Hope is what was necessary to bring them to. this point. I do think that there are a lot. of people reflecting tonight, but also I think that there's a lot. of folks that have some atoning to do. So we'll see what happens in the next couple of days, Ali. A shout-out to Tougaloo.