Mississippi Democrats nominated prosecutor Scott Colom in Tuesday’s primary election to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in the November U.S. Senate general election.
“Tonight, Mississippi voted for a new direction, and that’s what this campaign has always been about,” Colom said in a Tuesday night press release. “I’ve traveled all over this state, listening to farmers who can’t sell their crops, mothers deciding between paying their utility bill or buying groceries, and workers who are terrified of losing their health care. These folks matter, they’re why I’m running, and they’re why we’re going to win. Cindy Hyde-Smith has had the seat, the platform, and the power to act for Mississippi families — but she’s been too busy serving herself and her big-money donors. That ends in November.”
The Associated Press called the race for Colom at 8:10 p.m. on Tuesday night. With 91% of votes counted as of Wednesday morning, Colom led with 73% of the vote compared to 18% for Priscilla Williams-Till and 9% for Albert Littell.
With 93% of the vote counted as of Wednesday morning, Hyde-Smith defeated Republican challenger Sarah Adlakha 81%-19%.
Colom currently serves as the Lowndes County district attorney. Former President Joe Biden nominated the Mississippian to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi on Oct. 14, 2022.
Hyde-Smith later blocked the Senate from even considering his nomination in 2023 by refusing to return a “blue slip” to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Senators can block judicial nominees from their home states if they do not submit the slip. Her colleague, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, supported Colom’s nomination.
Hyde-Smith has served in the U.S. Senate since 2018 when then-Gov. Phil Bryant nominated her to replace Thad Cochran’s Senate seat after he resigned. She won the special election in 2018 to serve the rest of Cochran’s term and voters reelected her in 2020.
The senator expressed her appreciation to voters for choosing her to serve as the Republican nominee with a social media graphic that said “Thank you, Mississippi” beside a photo of her and President Donald Trump bumping fists.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee immediately launched an attack on Colom after his victory Tuesday night, calling him “a transgender defender” for his opposition to bans on trans health care. After former President Joe Biden nominated Colom to serve as a judge on a federal court, Hyde-Smith blocked his nomination in 2023, saying that “I recognize he is smart and well-liked in his district,” but that she opposed his nomination because of his support for trans rights.
Independent candidate for U.S. Senate Ty Pinkins, who did not have to run in the primary election since he is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, challenged Colom and Hyde-Smith to participate in an 82-county town hall tour across Mississippi in a Tuesday night statement. My County My Voice, a nonpartisan civic initiative, is hosting the town halls.
“Mississippi has 82 counties and nearly three million people, and every one of them deserves the opportunity to question the people asking for their vote,” Pinkins said. “If you want six years representing Mississippians in Washington, you should be willing to spend one evening answering questions from voters in every county in our state.”
See the full election results from Tuesday’s primaries here.