Scott Colom could become Mississippi's first Black senator since Reconstruction

Scott Colom could become Mississippi’s first Black senator since Reconstruction

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A Mississippi Senate Race Built on Quiet Belief

“Watching Scott’s campaign pick up so much momentum has been an absolute thrill,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said, his words capturing the quiet, then sudden, rise of a candidate who stands on the verge of making history. Should that lead hold, Colom would become the first African American elected to the Senate from Mississippi since the Reconstruction era.

Colom announced his Senate bid in September 2025, and he has always described the race as a slow, deliberate build. “The slow buildup of momentum allowed him to find his footing before the race started getting intense,” he said in an interview two weeks before the election.

Democrat Scott Colom staying strong in Mississippi's U.S. Senate race

The First Outsider to See the Potential

The first call came out of the blue from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island). “He was looking at the map — he told me this — he was like, oh, who’s interesting out there who’s not getting any attention?” Colom recalled. “He was like, Mississippi could be interesting.” That initial curiosity led to a trip to Mississippi, where the two men talked policy, diving deep into a subject that preoccupied Whitehouse: how insurance markets along the Gulf Coast are repeatedly battered by hurricanes. They didn’t just talk; they went down to the coast to meet with insurance agents, grounding their strategy in the real-world economic anxieties of the state.

Colom sought advice from Whitehouse on the practicalities of running for office, and the Rhode Island senator became a champion. “He really started fighting for me,” Colom said. “People would say, ‘I only called you back because Warnock called me,’ Colom said, referring to the other early believer. “And so he’s been a real champion.” This behind-the-scenes advocacy provided a fundraising lifeline when Colom was still unknown, transforming a long shot into a plausible contender.”

“Keep trying to figure out your message,” Colom recalled the Georgia senator telling him. “You’re getting the benefit of seeing people react without the press there, right? You know, so if it doesn’t land well, nobody knows that it didn’t land well.”

Adapting the Message in Real Time

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia), the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate in the South, became Colom’s long-distance strategist. Warnock’s advice was practical and focused on the long game: keep your head down, make the calls, and find a message that resonates.

Even at a Trump rally for his opponent, Colom was outside, shaking hands and engaging with supporters, demonstrating a political savvy that understood the importance of both message and moment. “I’m pretty confident of what works, because I got a whole lot of practice of what don’t work,” he said.

Scott Colom Reflects On Potentially Being First Black Mississippi Senator Since 1870s | Midterms

The Floodgates Open

The quiet confidence honed with Whitehouse and Warnock eventually opened the floodgates. After Colom won the Democratic primary in March, he got a call from Vice President Kamala Harris. He was with his mother and, knowing the call would be a thrill, handed the phone to her. When he got it back, Harris’s message was simple: “I’m proud of you. Keep doing what you’re doing.” As Colom’s name recognition grew, Harris called again. This time, he was with his wife, who was exhausted from juggling work, family, and the campaign. He handed her the phone, and she didn’t give it back. Her suggestion? They could get Harris to visit the state. A few weeks later, Harris headlined a rally in Colom’s hometown of Columbus, at the high school where he graduated—her first such event since losing the presidential election in 2024.

Soon, a who’s who of Democratic figures made the trek to Mississippi: former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former President Bill Clinton. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), who led the broad efforts to win a Democratic Senate majority, were notably absent from Colom’s list of early visitors. While Schumer had floated Mississippi as a potential pickup, the Democrats’ main super PAC for Senate candidates didn’t start spending on the race until the end of October. Still, in the final, tense days of vote counting, Schumer sent support in the form of staffers and lawyers to help monitor the process that could put Colom over the top.

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Scott Colom could be Mississippi’s first Black senator since Reconstruction
Scott Colom hopes to be the first Black Senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction

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