Scott Colom WINS Mississippi Senate race in HISTORIC UPSET

BLACK MAN EVER TO BE ELECTED AS A U .S. SENATOR IN THAT STATE THE LAST. TIME MISSISSIPPI HAD A BLACK. SENATOR WAS JUST AFTER THE STATE. WAS READMITTED TO THE UNION AFTER. THE CIVIL WAR BUT THAT HIROM REVELS WAS CHOSEN BY. THE. STATE'S LEGISLATURE IN 1870, NOT THE VOTERS LIKE COLOMB WAS. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DECLARED HIM THE. WINNER YESTERDAY EVENING AFTER A TALLY. OF 2 ,000 VOTES FROM JACKSON COUNTY, A. REPUBLICAN STRONGHOLD. INCUMBENT REPUBLICAN SENATOR CINDY HYDE SMITH. THE RACE BETWEEN COLOMB, A 43-YEAR-OLD LOCAL.

PROSECUTOR AND HYDE SMITH, A TRUMP LOYALIST IS ONE OF THIS IS ONE. OF THE BIGGEST SURPRISES OF THESE MIDTERM. ELECTIONS. CULOMB ENERGIZED THE STATE'S. LARGE BLACK POPULATION, CAPITALIZED ON VOTERS' DISCONTENT. WITH THE ECONOMY AND HONED IN ON SOME. OF THE MISSTEPS HIS OPPONENT MADE. DURING THE CAMPAIGN. THIS IS A LOOK AT SOME OF HIS VICTORY SPEECH. LAST NIGHT IN JACKSON. AND I'LL TELL YOU, Throughout this campaign, there were many times where I had to have faith. There were times that I couldn't get donors to.

answer the phone. They did not believe a moment. like this was possible, but I kept the faith. There were times when I did my first town hall. in Jackson, Mississippi. Frank Figures helped me organize it. Less than 10 people showed up, but I kept the faith. I kept the faith.

But I want to have a final word. to every Mississippian, the ones that voted for me, the ones that didn't vote. for me, and the ones that didn't vote. My commitment to you, each and every one of you is. that first I'm going to treat your children. like I want my children to be treated. I'm going to treat.

We're going to come to that in just a moment, but I want to start in Mississippi. because I imagine this is going to be a big. topic of conversation out in Denver as well. This is a state that Trump won in 2024 by more. than 22 points. We know that Republicans are freaking out.

about what the map might look like in 2028, but before we touch that, just look at the way that. Scott was able to win. this race, ultimately energizing folks. But that message of faith that he was just talking. about there last night was such a central underpinning. here. So what do you see? What is your explanation for how this red state. flipped blue? Good morning, Ali. I mean, you just, you said it so well there. This is probably one of the most stunning upsets. for a Democrat that I can ever remember. I mean, this supersedes Doug Jones,

not surprised when. in that Alabama center race back in 2017. There's just so much here that, you know, you've heard Scott Colom talk about the, you know, donors didn't believe maybe. some voters. weren't on board at the start, but he always had such an interesting. and compelling message given he had. obviously been blocked by Senator Cindy. Hyde-Smith from being a federal judge when. former President Joe Biden, then President Joe Biden, had nominated him for the. federal bench. during his one term as president. The. back last year was so notable, too,

because Hyde Smith is somebody she's one. of the few Senate Republicans who actually. voted against certifying the election. results after the January 6 attack. and especially in the Senate. And it's one of those fascinating things. where Hyde Smith, you know, had been seen more vulnerable, but it still took a strong candidate. This is somebody who obviously there was. the opening for the compelling message, but it took a lot of cluing people. in that this race even had these signs. of being competitive to surely because. of the political gravity in Mississippi. Even in a blue wave year, it needed a strong. candidate for Democrats.

and obviously Scott Colom kind. of triangulated that message. And you even saw, you know, that whole idea of, you know, pick another protein, pick another senator was an ad message for him. It really seemed to resonate. and really became arguably one. of the strongest Senate campaigns. and not just this cycle, but really any recent cycle. Yeah, I think that ad really had legs. in terms of getting even outside. of Mississippi and bringing some national. attention to this race. I also think you make a great point. about Republicans who rely so heavily. on their voters just being habitually.

and culturally Republican, that's PART OF THE STORY OUT. OF A PLACE LIKE KANSAS FOR ROGER MARSHALL, DEFINITELY PART OF THE STORY IN. MISSISSIPPI WITH CINDY HYDE SMITH. BUT I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE. SOUTH AND THE WAYS THAT YOU AND. I TALKED ABOUT THIS, ONE OF THE STUNNERS ON. ELECTION NIGHT. WAS WHY IS THE LOUISIANA SENATE. RACE AS CLOSE AS IT IS? I MEAN, IS THIS A LESSON FOR. NATIONAL DEMOCRATS ABOUT WHAT IT LOOKS. LIKE TO INVEST IN STATES THAT THEY THOUGHT MIGHT. HAVE BEEN LOST? I'M THINKING OF A PLACE LIKE. FLORIDA, FRANKLY, WHICH DEMOCRATIC INVESTMENT. FOR THE.

LAST EIGHT YEARS. IS THIS A LESSON OF INVEST EVERYWHERE? IT'S FUNNY YOU SAY THAT, ALI. MY CONVERSATIONS WITH DNC CHAIR KEN MARDIN, especially before the election, were interesting. But you'll hear him say to the public, to Democratic voices that he doesn't see. any state as being a perpetual red state. And I think it's easy to scoff at that kind. of optimism, especially before these results. But when you see what's happened, Democrats have an opportunity to. actually make arguments in parts. of the country they really did.

not think were winnable for years. and years and years. Now, obviously, there were so many elements. here between I mean, obviously there were interesting candidates. There was the political gravity. that helped Democrats in this blue wave, blue tsunami situation. Democrats can build on this, but they have to obviously try. and figure out how to invest. in these communities to make that argument. because the political conditions. will not always be as favorable. for them as they were last week. Yeah, absolutely underscore that last piece. of it, and that's where Democrats. have to continue looking at what were the proactive. things that worked,

not just reacting to this IN THIS. VERY ANTI-REPUBLICAN, ANTI-TRUMP ENVIRONMENT. I ALSO WANT TO UPDATE VIEWERS ON. WHAT'S GOING ON IN ALASKA BECAUSE. THAT SENATE RACE THERE REMAINS. TOO CLOSE TO CALL. BALLOTS CONTINUE TO BE TALLIED. WE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO TAKE A WHILE. AS OF THIS MORNING IT IS. DEMOCRAT PELTOLA HOLD A SLIGHT. LEAD OVER INCUMBENT REPUBLICAN. SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN BY JUST. UNDER 4 ,000 VOTES. PELTOLA'S LEAD IS SLIGHTLY BELOW THE 4 ,100 VOTES CAST. FOR THE OTHER. DISTRICT JUDGE OF COURSE DISMISSED THE CASE BUT THE.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUED IN. OCTOBER TO PREEMPTIVELY BLOCK. QUOTE ANY ELECTION RESULT THAT. MAY BE IMPACTED BY VOTER. CONFUSION. A DISTRICT JUDGE OF OF COURSE DISMISSED THE CASE, BUT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS APPEALING. AT THE SAME TIME A JUDGE IN ALASKA DENIED AN EFFORT BY. THE. PELTOLA CAMPAIGN TO OBTAIN A. CENTRALIZED LIST OF ABSENTEE. VOTERS WHOSE BALLOTS WERE REJECTED. THE PELTOLA CAMPAIGN CITING THE TIMING. AND HEAVY THE JUDGE ARGUED THAT ACCESS. TO THE REJECTED BALLOT INFORMATION WAS. NECESSARY TO HELP ENSURE ALL ELIGIBLE. VOTERS HAD THEIR BALLOTS COUNTED. THE JUDGE, THOUGH, CALLED THAT REQUEST NOT.

REASONABLE, CITING THE TIMING AND HEAVY WORKLOAD. FACING ELECTION OFFICIALS. AS THEY CONTINUE COUNTING BALLOTS. REMEMBER, IF NEITHER OF THESE. CANDIDATES HIT 50%, THEN YOU START GETTING INTO. THE RANKED. CHOICE VOTING. SECOND CHOICES, WE'LL KEEP WAITING FOR. THOSE RESULTS. BUT THEN, OF COURSE, FRESH OFF THE PARTY'S. SWEEPING MIDTERM WINDS, DEMOCRATIC OFFICIALS AND STRATEGISTS ARE ALL MEETING. IN. DENVER TO PLOT THE PARTY'S future. Beginning today, the What's Next Conference. will feature. dozens of Democratic. heavyweights and potential presidential contenders, all as the party figures out what to do.

with majorities in both chambers. and at least a dozen new legislative. chambers as well. The schedule includes appearances. by victorious candidates from the midterms. like senator-elect James Tallarico. of Texas and senator-elect Josh Turek of Iowa. A number of potential 2028 presidential. hopefuls are going to be there too. former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, Democratic senator Cory Booker, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, all of them set to attend. The gathering also serves as a showcase. for Denver which is vying to host. the Democrats 2028 convention.

by promoting Colorado as an example. of a purple state turned solidly blue. Hunter, you've got to identify. some coffee shops for us early if that is. in fact where the convention is going. to be held. But I think more broadly, what are some of the. conversations. because I think the very Washington. question this week is are you going to Denver? Everyone is flocking to this city. They are tired from the midterms, but they are energized. What do you think the central lines. of conversation have been. as you've been talking to your sources. in the lead up to this confab? What's been so surprising to me, Ali,

is frankly just how happy folks are. Because it sounds silly because obviously Democrats. defeated. Donald Trump in 2020. They obviously had won back the Senate, but that was right. You know, this all happened during. COVID. and then obviously January 6th. happened. This is really these victories last week. This was really the first time Democrats. I think have been able to breathe a sigh. of relief in the Donald Trump era. in a major way because even in the 2018 midterms, when they won back the House, they actually lost ground in the Senate. So this is this moment where they see just.

these massive winds in the House map. They see obviously this really comfortable. Senate majority they're coming in with now. They see a lot of reasons to be hopeful. for the future, and I wonder if there's some potential. 2028 candidates who are thinking, oh, I'm not going to run, and then they see these. results. and they're more energized about it. It was always expected to be a really large. field of candidates on the Democratic side. You look at something like this, though, with the results and the energy, this is the happiest, like I said, that I've seen Democrats in quite some time.

And just gives this idea of instead of, you know, maybe some of these larger policy debates, which, of course, are going to happen. There is this ability to to perhaps maybe just say, like, are they going to run on this open change message? Are they going to run more trying to just. have optimism in a way they didn't seem. to have back in 2019, 2020, when they were first. running against. or running against Donald Trump's re-election? Because hope wasn't really something. that voters were buying at that point. They may have that opportunity now. and at this conference, as we talk to these candidates at these events,

it'll be interesting to see. if hope is more back on the menu. Yeah, I'm interested in that too, especially as they try to chart a path here. in Washington of what do we do with our. WHEN WE KNOW THERE'S NOT LIKELY TO BE A. TON OF COOPERATION FROM THE WHITE HOUSE. VERY QUICKLY, I WONDER IF YOU LOOK AT. THIS FROM THE. REPUBLICAN SIDE. THERE ARE REPUBLICANS TRIANGULATING HOW DO YOU. WIN A PRESIDENTIAL IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY JUST. BANKING TEXAS AS A RED STATE, THAT'S GOING TO INFORM A LOT OF THE PEOPLE ON. THE REPUBLICAN SIDE. BUT ARE DEMOCRATS ASSUMING THAT THIS MAP IS JUST HOW. IT'S GOING.

TO LOOK AND THIS IS WHAT THEY'RE. DEALING WITH GOING FORWARD? BECAUSE THAT FEELS TOO QUOINT AS WELL. IT'S A GREAT POINT, And I think any Democrat. who's saying, oh, you know, Texas could win on the. presidency. right now and they're feeling good about that. We still don't know. Obviously, this has been fascinating. what's happened. in Texas. It's still so tough to win in a presidential year for. Democrats. This is one of those things where there is. that foundation to build on. But I know there had even been talk. in Democratic circles. that a strong midterm performance could. still mask larger issues within the party,

the party brand and all that. And that's a tension right here, right? Was this an election that Democrats really won. by their own candidates? Or was this an election where voters delivered. a referendum on Donald Trump? And there's probably some truth to it being. a little bit of both of those things. But Democrats, obviously, they talked about two years. ago around this time, just after the 2024 election, about how the party brand was really. in a rough spot and voters had delivered. quite a rebuke to the Democratic Party. These wins, they have reasons to be hopeful, like we've talked about, but they also still have those. longer term issues about investing.

in states around the country, not just the presidential. battlegrounds to have longer term success. Yeah, I think you're right to. describe it as both and, and that's certainly the two fronts. that we'll be following on. What does it look like for Democrats to rebuild their. brand. while also recognizing that this country wasn't. with Republicans after two years. of seeing them run everything in Washington. MSNOW political reporter Hunter Woodall, thank you. Enjoy Denver. Interested in what you come back with. in your reporting.