Politics1 min read

Who is Scott Colom, Mississippi’s first Black senator in 150 years?

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Scott Colom built his campaign around affordability and broad voter outreach, pairing strong engagement among Black constituents with targeted messaging directed at the state's white majority. The 43-year-old Columbus native previously served as the first Black district attorney for Mississippi's 16th Judicial District from 2016 until this year. During his prosecutorial tenure, he dropped a murder charge that enabled Eddie Lee Howard to be freed after 26 years on death row. He celebrated his narrow triumph before supporters gathered at Tougaloo College in Jackson.

Key points

  • Scott Colom's historic Senate win helps solidify a 55-44 Democratic majority in the upper…: Scott Colom's historic Senate win helps solidify a 55-44 Democratic majority in the upper chamber of Congress.
  • A strategic campaign focused on economic affordability and coalition building successfull…: A strategic campaign focused on economic affordability and coalition building successfully bridged significant demographic divides within the state.
  • The victory highlights Scott Colom's transition from a prominent local district attorney…: The victory highlights Scott Colom's transition from a prominent local district attorney to a national political figure.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Mississippi is home to a large Black American population but no Black person has held a Senate seat since the 1800s.

United States prosecutor and Democrat Scott Colom has made history in Mississippi by becoming the deeply conservative state’s first Black senator in more than 150 years and ushering in the first Democratic victory there in more than four decades.

Senator-elect Colom’s narrow victory against Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith was declared late on Wednesday, more than a week after the US midterms, which many have called a “blue tsunami” as Democrats firmly seized control of both the Senate and House of Representatives.

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