Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race has not been called for Democrat Scott Colom, despite a Facebook post from the Congressional Black Caucus PAC congratulating him and saying that “HISTORY IS MADE IN MISSISSIPPI!” Colom holds a narrow lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, but thousands of votes remain to be counted. Many of those votes come in areas favorable to Colom such as Hinds County, but thousands of affidavit votes also remain to be counted.

Scott Colom speaks at a campaign rall
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom speaks at a campaign rally featuring former Vice President Kamala Harris at Columbus High School in Columbus, Miss., on Oct. 22, 2026. MFP Photo by Heather Harrison

Award-winning News Editor Ashton Pittman, a native of the South Mississippi Pine Belt, studied journalism and political science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously the state reporter at the Jackson Free Press, he drove national headlines and conversations with award-winning reporting about segregation academies. He has won numerous awards, including Outstanding New Journalist in the South, for his work covering immigration raids, abortion battles and even former Gov. Phil Bryant’s unusual work with “The Bad Boys of Brexit" at the Jackson Free Press. In 2021, as a Mississippi Free Press reporter, he was named the Diamond Journalist of the Year for seven southern U.S. states in the Society of Professional Journalists Diamond Awards. A trained photojournalist, Ashton lives in South Mississippi with his husband, William, and their two pit bulls, Dorothy and Dru.