Friday, November 13, 2026 Vol. I · No. 23 · Afternoon Edition Print size
Election 2026 494 of 505 races called See the results → The GOP Files Receipts on the Republican-run Washington · Sourced · Dated · On the record On Instagram 5.6M plays and counting @thegopfiles →
The Wire
Navy quietly fired submarine and destroyer leaders, Democrats say Congress was not told Miller memo requires White House staff to get counsel's approval before meeting lobbyists DOJ memo tells federal agencies to put English first and cut other languages On tape: Trump's Jan. 6 pardons told ICE it was beyond the law, Rep. Al Green says on the House floor Garcia calls Blanche's warning a threat; DOJ chief cites Constitution Bessent says Treasury wanted Megaspeed blacklisted, but 'Commerce has the pen' Postal Service to raise package prices Jan. 17 after $6.5 billion loss Trump's Medicare agency extends freeze on new hospices and home health agencies to May IRS raises 401(k) limit to $25,500 for 2027, with $11,750 catch-up for ages 60 to 63 On tape: Cory Booker tells Kash Patel a federal judge vowed to toss subpoenas for reporters' phone records Navy quietly fired submarine and destroyer leaders, Democrats say Congress was not told Miller memo requires White House staff to get counsel's approval before meeting lobbyists DOJ memo tells federal agencies to put English first and cut other languages On tape: Trump's Jan. 6 pardons told ICE it was beyond the law, Rep. Al Green says on the House floor Garcia calls Blanche's warning a threat; DOJ chief cites Constitution Bessent says Treasury wanted Megaspeed blacklisted, but 'Commerce has the pen' Postal Service to raise package prices Jan. 17 after $6.5 billion loss Trump's Medicare agency extends freeze on new hospices and home health agencies to May IRS raises 401(k) limit to $25,500 for 2027, with $11,750 catch-up for ages 60 to 63 On tape: Cory Booker tells Kash Patel a federal judge vowed to toss subpoenas for reporters' phone records

Midterms 2026 · Report · File No. 261111-629

CNN projects Democrat Scott Colom unseats Sen. Hyde-Smith in Mississippi Senate race

CNN projected Wednesday that Colom beat Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in a very close race. If it holds, he would be Mississippi's first Democratic senator since 1982.

By the Campaign Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (1) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
Cindy Hyde-Smith
Cindy Hyde-Smith. Photo: United States Senate, Public domain

CNN projected Wednesday that Democrat Scott Colom has won Mississippi's U.S. Senate seat, defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith 12. Colom is a local prosecutor. If the result holds, he would be the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Mississippi since John C. Stennis in 1982 1.

Newsweek reports he would also be the first Black Mississippian popularly elected to the chamber 1. The call came more than a week after the Nov. 3 election 12.

On tapeCNN · Nov 11
CNN's Decision Desk projects Scott Colom will defeat Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's Senate race.Video: CNN on YouTube, “Dem Scott Colom will win Mississippi race, CNN projects”. It plays from YouTube when you press play.

A margin of half a point

As of Wednesday night, 98.6 percent of ballots had been counted, with Colom ahead 49.2 percent to 48.7 percent 1. The Associated Press had not yet called the race, Newsweek reports 1.

Early on the morning after Election Day, Colom led by just 43 votes, 462,821 to 462,778, with about 95.6 percent of ballots tabulated, according to WLBT in Jackson 3. Independent Ty Pinkins had 19,935 votes 3. Mississippi has no runoff in federal general elections, so the candidate with the most votes wins 3.

From Channel GOPScott Colom says he will win Mississippi's Senate raceScott Colom · 3.6K plays · captioned, with the source named

Hyde-Smith declared victory on election night, WLBT reported, before the count was settled 3. Her campaign has not been reported to have conceded in the sources reviewed for this brief.

What Colom said

Colom was confident while the count dragged on. His campaign estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 affidavit ballots were still outstanding statewide, WLBT reported, citing Mississippi Today 3. An affidavit ballot is one cast by a voter whose eligibility had to be checked before it could be counted.

This is our election. We've won it.
Scott Colom, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Mississippi3

On Hyde-Smith's early victory claim, Colom said, "Bless her heart." 3

Why it matters

Newsweek says the result shifts the balance of power in Congress further toward Democrats for the rest of President Donald Trump's second term 1. Republicans entered Election Day with a 53-47 Senate majority 1. Democrats have since won Senate seats in Texas, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, Maine and South Carolina, and they also took the House 1.

The state is also strongly Republican. Trump carried it by nearly 23 percentage points in 2024, with 60.9 percent to Kamala Harris's 38 percent 1. Polls before the vote had Hyde-Smith ahead: a Change Research survey of Oct. 21-22 had her at 43 percent to Colom's 40 percent, and an August Data for Progress poll had her at 44 percent to 38 percent 1.

That matters because it shows how far the midterm shift reached. Newsweek notes the president's party has historically tended to lose congressional seats in midterm elections 1.

What happens next

The AP call is still pending, according to Newsweek 1. Mississippi must still finish counting and certify its results. The sources reviewed here do not give a timeline for that, and they report no recount request.

The Record

  1. Trump carried Mississippi with 60.9 percent of the vote to Kamala Harris's 38 percent. 1
  2. Early on the morning after Election Day, Colom led Hyde-Smith by 43 votes with about 95.6 percent of ballots tabulated. 3
  3. CNN projected Colom the winner; he led 49.2 percent to 48.7 percent with 98.6 percent counted, and the AP had not called the race. 12
Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

  1. Newsweek, “Scott Colom Makes History With Mississippi Senate Win, CNN Projects” (2026-11-11). newsweek.com/scott-colom-makes-history-with-mississippi-sena
  2. Reuters (via Yahoo News), “Democrat Scott Colom defeats incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, CNN projects” (2026-11-11). yahoo.com/news/articles/democrat-scott-colom-defeats-incumbe
  3. WLBT, “Scott Colom projects victory in razor-thin Mississippi Senate race as uncounted ballots linger” (2026-11-04). wlbt.com/2026/11/04/scott-colom-projects-victory-razor-thin-

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.

More from the files

Delivered free to your door*

The Morning Edition

One short email at 7 a.m. Eastern: the day's top files, one clip worth your time, and the race to watch. Plain English, large type, no clutter.

*Your inbox. Free. Unsubscribe with one click, any time.