10
Loading video...
By Aliss Higham
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Democrat Scott Colom has won Mississippi's U.S. Senate race by a little more than half a percentage point, one of the narrowest finishes in this year’s midterm elections. But his victory, which will make him the first Black senator in the Magnolia State since Reconstruction, is still thousands of votes larger than the closest Senate results in history.
The race was called on Wednesday, more than a week after Americans went to the polls, with Colom defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 5,611 votes—474,742 to 469,131, or 49.24 percent to 48.66 percent, as of 11 a.m. ET Thursday. The contest had remained uncalled for more than a week after Election Day as Mississippi officials reviewed absentee mail-in and provisional ballots.
The close finish comes during a sweeping success for the Democrats, who won control of both chambers of Congress ahead of President Donald Trump's final two years in the White House. Democrats will hold at least 55 Senate seats after gaining eight, their largest midterm pickup in the chamber since 1986. Alaska's closely watched race is yet to be called.
Read More on News
While Mississippi's race was the narrowest of the Senate races so far this year, it is still no way near as close as some historical races, which in some cases were decided by just a handful of votes.
...
Closest Senate Races in History
The closest Senate race in history, according to a list compiled by Politifact, was in New Hampshire in 1974. Republican Louis C. Wyman was declared the winner over Democrat John A. Durkin by a mere two votes, which amounts to less than 0.001 percentage points.
The contest was called after a series of recounts. Wyman was initially thought to have won by 355 votes, before a recount meant Durkin was briefly determined to be the winner by 10 votes. Another recount found Wyman winning by just two votes. The result was then challenged in the Senate, with an appointed special panel spending weeks examining ballots. Eventually, a new election was called, with Durkin winning by 27,000 votes.
The second-closest Senate race was in Minnesota, where Democrat Al Franken defeated Republican Norm Coleman by 312 votes out of nearly 2.9 million cast in 2008. Frankel's margin was about 0.01 percent, and the result was settled only after a recount and legal challenge.
The third-tightest Senate race was between Democrat Howard W. Cannon and Republican Paul Laxalt in Nevada in 1964, with Cannon winning by just 48 votes, or 0.04 percentage points. North Dakota’s 1974 Senate race was next, with Republican Milton R. Young defeating former Democratic Governor William L. Guy by 177 votes, a gap of about 0.08 percentage points.
The fifth-closest race was in Iowa more than 100 years ago. Republican Smith W. Brookhart defeated Democrat Daniel F. Steck by about 755 votes in the 1924 election, another margin of roughly 0.08 percentage points. However, Brookhart’s win was contested, and the Senate ultimately voted to replace him with Steck more than a year later.
Related Story
The Greatest Ever Political Ad That Helped Scott Colom Win Mississippi
Colom's Victory
Colom is the first directly elected Black senator in Mississippi since Blanche K. Bruce, who was elected by the state Legislature in 1874. Colom is also the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since John Stennis won reelection in 1982. Colom is currently district attorney for the 16th Judicial District of Mississippi.
During his victory speech on Wednesday evening on the campus of Tougaloo College, Colom said he would work to "make every Mississippian’s life better."
"My commitment to you, each and every one of you, is that, first, I’m going to treat your children like I want my children to be treated," he said. "I’m going to treat your parents the way I want my parents to be treated. I’m going to treat your future the way I want my future to be."
Hyde-Smith conceded after the race was called by the Associated Press on Wednesday.
“While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” said Hyde-Smith, who has been a senator since 2018. “I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state.”
In 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Colom to be a U.S. District Court judge, but Hyde-Smith blocked Colom’s confirmation.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Dave Siminoff.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines