Nov 13, 2026 · 28 min
Scott Colom breaks Mississippi’s statewide political barrier
Mississippi, hot damn!
Colom’s narrow victory shows how sustained local organizing, Black turnout, crossover voting, and an overlooked candidate can disrupt entrenched assumptions about Mississippi politics.
- 1Scott Colom won Mississippi’s Senate race by roughly two dozen votes, with affidavit ballots breaking his way.
- 2Black turnout, crossover Republican support, and a sharply effective campaign ad combined to overcome national Democratic neglect.
- 3Bennie Thompson connects the victory to decades of civil-rights organizing, voter registration, and political mentorship in Mississippi.
Don't miss
Bennie Thompson recalls decades of civil-rights work before connecting that history to Scott Colom’s breakthrough victory.
The brief
Scott Colom’s razor-thin Senate victory made history in Mississippi, where no Black candidate had won statewide since Reconstruction. Reporter Taylor Vance reconstructs how the race became competitive.
The result turned on more than Black turnout: crossover Republican voters, affidavit ballots, and a memorable ad built around Cindy Hyde-Smith’s beef-price remark helped push Colom over the line.
Taylor Vance traces the campaign’s momentum through growing rallies, Colom’s positive message, and low-budget social media that reached persuadable voters despite limited national support.
Bennie Thompson places the win in a longer history, recalling Jim Crow, Fannie Lou Hamer’s organizing, voter-registration drives, and the local movements that expanded Black political power.
Thompson also describes mentoring Colom through the Mississippi Black Leadership Institute, linking a historic Senate victory to more than five decades of organizing and political work.
The episode’s larger argument is that Mississippi is more politically competitive than its reputation suggests—and that national Democrats have repeatedly failed to invest accordingly.
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