Senate Republicans are projected to suffer yet another stunning setback, this time in reliably red Mississippi.
Incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., is projected to lose her bid for a second full term in the U.S. Senate to state District Attorney Scott Colom in a race that was deadlocked until the final weeks of October, according to The Associated Press.
More than a week after Election Day, the AP called the razor-thin race in favor of Colom Wednesday, pushing the Democrats’ hold on the U.S. Senate to 55 seats to the Republicans’ 44 in another flip.
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Democrats could gain another pending the results in Alaska, where former Rep. Mary Peltola is in a neck-and-neck contest with Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.
A source told Fox News Digital Hyde-Smith had spoken with Colom and conceded the race.
Colom’s victory over Hyde-Smith marked a historic moment in the Magnolia State, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since the 1980s.
Hyde-Smith, in a video posted to X, said, “While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters.
“I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state.”
His win comes after President Donald Trump rallied behind Hyde-Smith and a seven-figure, last-minute ad buy by the Senate Leadership Fund, a political action committee closely tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was not enough to stop Colom’s momentum.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., took a victory lap before the race was officially called by The Associated Press, congratulating Colom on his historic win in a state that once seemed unattainable.
“Congratulations to Senator-Elect Colom on his historic win and on becoming the first Democrat to win a Mississippi Senate seat in over four decades,” the lawmakers said. “We will work hand in hand with Scott to fight for Mississippians’ health care, costs and future in the 120th Congress and look forward to welcoming him to our caucus.”
Hyde-Smith’s loss to Colom, who she previously blocked for a district court seat under the Biden administration years ago, comes after both parties rallied big names and resources in an effort to prevent a nightmare scenario for Republicans.
But in a previous interview with Fox News Digital, Colom said that wasn’t his motivating factor.
“I’ll tell you, as a Christian, I forgive her for that. That’s not a motivating factor for me,” Colom said. “I mean, as a district attorney, I have to prosecute cases where people lost their loved ones to gun violence. So, you know, and I’ve seen them forgive that person.
“So, that’s not the motivating factor,” he continued. “For me, it’s really the betrayal of the America First movement, right? Like she was supposed to help President Trump get lower grocery prices. Well, she betrayed us. We’re not getting lower grocery prices.”
