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

Résumé détaillé

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.

It has been 43 years since Democrats last won a Senate seat in the state, in 1982.

But Colom’s win is significant beyond party politics and marks a turning point for Mississippi’s African American community too: he’ll be the first Black American senator since 1874.

It was a narrow victory. Colom beat Hyde-Smith, the incumbent and an ally of President Donald Trump, by fewer than 5,000 votes after 99 percent of ballots had been counted late on Wednesday.

Hyde-Smith had been ahead in polling for Mississippi, where Trump won by 23 points in 2024.

Colom’s win puts Democratic Senate control at 55-44. Another tight race in Alaska is still being counted, although Democrat Mary Peltola is also leading there by a slim margin.

Only 14 Black senators have ever been elected or appointed in the US. Colom will be one of seven new Black senators.

On Wednesday, after the results were called, Colom told supporters at his victory party in Jackson that he had come close to giving up.

Début de l'article, extrait de Al Jazeera. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.