Before Scott Colom, these two men were the last black US senators in Mississippi

What the report says

Democrat Scott Colom has won a close race in Mississippi, according to BBC World News, and will become the state’s first Black US senator in more than 150 years. The result is notable in a deeply conservative state that last elected a Democrat to the US Senate in 1982 and had not seated a Black senator since the 19th century.

BBC World News said Colom will be only the third Black person to serve as a US senator from Mississippi, following Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce. Revels served briefly from 1870 to 1871 as the first Black senator in US history, while Bruce, who was born into slavery, completed a full term from 1875 to 1881. Their tenures came before the Jim Crow era hardened segregation across Mississippi and other southern states.

The report said Colom’s campaign benefited from mobilizing young voters and Mississippi’s large Black population. In remarks after the win, he referenced the historical legacy of Revels and the role of faith in the state’s political history. BBC World News also noted interviews with students at Jackson State University, where some first-time voters said they backed Colom and saw his victory as a sign of change.

The election outcome matters because it marks a rare shift in Mississippi’s modern political landscape and a symbolic milestone in a state with a long and difficult racial history.