Democrats have picked up another U.S. Senate seat. Scott Colom will defeat Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, CNN’s Decision Desk projected Wednesday, bringing the party’s incoming Senate majority to 55 seats, with a 56th still in reach.
Colom’s projected win, reported by CNN, makes the 43-year-old district attorney the first Democrat Mississippi voters have sent to the Senate in more than four decades, and the first Black person elected to statewide office in the state since the Reconstruction era.
The result adds to a majority Democrats had already clinched on election night. Republicans went into the midterms holding 53 Senate seats to the Democrats’ 47, counting two independents who caucus with them, according to the Associated Press. Democrats flipped enough Republican-held seats to take control, reaching 54 called seats while two races — Mississippi and Alaska — remained too close to call. With Colom’s race now projected, that number rises to 55.
With 56 seats, democrats will only need the support of 4 Republicans to overcome the filibuster and vote most major laws.
Although Mississippi does not have a large Haitian community, Colom’s race was closely followed by Haitian immigrants, many of whom hope a larger Democratic majority — with some Republican support — could advance immigration legislation restoring legal status to the more than 350,000 Haitians who lost their Temporary Protected Status on July 27, after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration.
The final seat hangs on Alaska, which has not been called.
Former Rep. Mary Peltola, the Democratic challenger, has led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in a count that has shifted repeatedly, according to the Associated Press. If Peltola prevails, Democrats would hold 56 seats to the Republicans’ 44; if she falls short, the majority stands at 55.
Colom built his campaign in the deep-red state around the cost of living, branding Hyde-Smith “Cindy High Prices,” CNN reported. His campaign drew wide attention with an ad that mocked a Hyde-Smith remark about “so many proteins to choose from” when she was asked about rising beef prices; in the spot, a voter says she would “rather pick another senator,” according to CNN.
He centered his turnout effort on Black voters, who make up roughly 35% of Mississippi’s electorate, while also courting White, working-class voters, CNN reported. In the closing weeks, prominent Democrats including former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned with him and Democratic super PACs spent on his behalf, while President Donald Trump traveled to the state to rally Republicans. Colom led by a razor-thin margin as counting continued and officials reviewed thousands of provisional ballots, according to CNN. “Mississippi matters,” he told the network.
Colom’s path crossed Hyde-Smith’s before.
She blocked his nomination to the federal bench a few years ago, even though he had the backing of other Republicans, including Mississippi’s senior senator, Roger Wicker, according to CNN. Hyde-Smith became the first female U.S. senator from Mississippi after her 2018 appointment to fill a vacancy, then won a special election that year and a full term in 2020.
The size of the new majority will shape how the incoming Senate operates. Whether Democrats hold 54, 55 or 56 seats affects committee ratios, the margin leaders can afford to lose on contested nominations, and the cushion available when a senator is absent, the Associated Press reported. Mississippi has now settled one of those seats; Alaska will set the final number.
https://ctninfo.com/coloms-mississip…55th-senate-seat/
Source: CNN
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