# Mississippi Senate Race Nears Historic Vote

> Mississippi's first Black senator could win by 28 votes in a razor-thin Senate race.
- Title: Mississippi Senate Race Nears Historic Vote · Mother Jones
- Summary: Mississippi's first Black senator could win by 28 votes in a razor-thin Senate race.
- Keywords: mississippi, senate, cindy hyde-smith, scott colom, voting rights act, reconstruction, Mother Jones
- Source: Mother Jones — https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/11/mississippi-senate-scott-colom-election-hyde-smith-voting-rights-act
- Author: Alex Nguyen
- Published: 2026-11-04T17:30:44+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: mississippi, senate, cindy hyde-smith, scott colom, voting rights act, reconstruction
## Mississippi Senate Race
Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith by 28 votes in Mississippi's Senate race.
## Voting Rights Impact
Mississippi has the largest proportion of Black residents in the country at 37 percent, but historically repressive voting laws.
## Voter Disenfranchisement
At least 43,700 Black Mississippians could not vote due to felony disenfranchisement in 2024.
## Election Timeline
Mississippi Senate results must be certified by November 13 with thousands of uncounted provisional ballots.
## Key takeaway

Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith by 28 votes in Mississippi's Senate race, potentially becoming the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction.