Scott Colom Nears 1st Black Mississippi Senate Win Since 1870
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 8
Scott Colom Nears 1st Black Mississippi Senate Win Since 1870
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 8
Summary
Scott Colom appeared to be edging toward a historic Mississippi Senate victory that would make him the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction.
An unusually broad coalition powered the push — Black voters, white voters, college students, suburban voters and discontented small-town conservatives all turned out.
In Meridian, psychiatric nurse Angela Lewis voted after her overnight shift and invoked the legacy of her father, James Chaney, one of 3 civil rights workers murdered in 1964.
If Colom wins, he would take a seat not held by a Black Mississippian since Hiram Revels, the nation's first Black senator, was elected in 1870.
After a 150-year gap since Reconstruction, will the ongoing ballot curing process officially cement Scott Colom's historic victory in Mississippi?
How does the emotional legacy of the 1964 civil rights struggles continue to drive unprecedented voter turnout in modern Mississippi elections?
With no automatic recount law in Mississippi, how will the final uncounted ballots decide this historically tight and monumental Senate race?
Mississippi’s 2026 Senate Election: Legal Battles, Uncounted Votes, and the Quest for First Black Senator Since Reconstruction
Overview
Mississippi’s 2026 U.S. Senate race became a historic showdown as thousands of uncounted affidavit and absentee ballots—caused by voter roll maintenance issues, precinct mix-ups, and missing photo IDs—delayed results and sparked legal battles over ballot handling. With no automatic recount law, both parties prepared for lawsuits while grassroots organizers drove a surge in Black voter turnout and youth mobilization, fueled by anger over redistricting and viral campaign moments. Scott Colom’s campaign, boosted by national support and a focus on rural healthcare, challenged decades of disenfranchisement and offered a new model for Democratic strategy in the Deep South.