Key facts
- CNN projected Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican US Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi.
- CNN's Decision Desk projected Colom would be the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction.
- CNN projected Colom would be the first Democrat to win the seat since 1982.
Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican US Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, CNN projected on November 11, 2026. CNN's Decision Desk projected that Colom would become the first Black senator from the state since Reconstruction and the first Democrat to win the seat since 1982.
The projection followed a campaign in which CNN reported that Colom challenged Donald Trump to a debate ahead of a Trump rally held in the final week to support Hyde-Smith. CNN reported that Hyde-Smith spoke only briefly at that rally.
CNN reported that Colom, 43, campaigned on health insurance coverage, rural hospitals at risk of closing because of Medicaid cuts scheduled under Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," gas prices and tariffs. The last Democratic senator from Mississippi, John Stennis, was an avowed segregationist, CNN reported.