Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate race in Historic Upset

Scott Cullum is now the first black man ever to be elected as a U.S. senator in that state. The last time Mississippi had a black senator was just after the state was readmitted to the union after the Civil War. But that man, Hiram Revels, was chosen by the state's legislature in 1870, not the voters like Cullum was. The Associated Press declared him the winner yesterday evening after a tally of 2,000 votes from Jackson County, a Republican stronghold typically, didn't include enough votes for the incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. The race between Cullum, a 43-year-old local prosecutor, and Hyde Smith, a Trump loyalist, is one of the biggest surprises of these midterm elections. Cullum energized the state's large black population, capitalized on voters' discontent with the economy, and honed in on some of the missteps his opponent made during the campaign. This is a look at some of his victory speech last night in Jackson. And I'll tell you, throughout this campaign, there were many times where I had to have faith. There were times that... I couldn't get donors to answer the phone. They did not believe a moment like this was possible, but I kept the faith. There were times when I did my first town hall in Jackson, Mississippi. Frank Figures helped me organize it. Less than 10 people showed up, but I kept the faith. I kept the faith. But I want to have a final word to every Mississippian, the ones that voted for me, the ones that didn't vote for me, and the ones that didn't vote. My commitment to you, each and every one of you, is that first. I'm going to treat your children like I want my children to be treated. I'm going to treat your parents the way I want my parents to be treated. I'm going to treat your future the way I want my future to be. I want to bring in MSNOW political reporter Hunter Woodall. He's live from Denver this morning. Democrats are gathering there to discuss the future direction of the party after their historic wins last night. We're going to come to that in just a moment. But I want to start in Mississippi because I imagine this is going to be a big topic of conversation out in Denver as well. This is a state that Trump won in 2024 by more than 22 points. We know that Republicans are freaking out about what the map might It might look like in 2028. But before we touch that, just look. Look at the way that Scott Cullum was able to win this race, ultimately energizing folks. But that message of faith that he was just talking about there last night was such a central underpinning here. So what do you see? What is your explanation for how this red state flipped blue? Good morning, Allie. I mean, you just, you said it so well there. This is probably one of the most stunning upsets for a Democrat that I can ever remember. I mean, this supersedes Doug Jones, did not surprise winning that Alabama Senate race back in 2017. There's just so much here that, you know, you've heard Scott Clontz talk about that, you know, donors didn't believe maybe some voters weren't on board at the start, but he always had such an interesting and compelling message given he had obviously been blocked by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith from being a federal judge When former President Joe Biden then Then President Joe Biden had nominated him for the federal bench during his one term as president. The backlash here was so notable, too, because Hyde-Smith is somebody she's one of the few Senate Republicans who actually voted against certifying the election results after the January 6th attack and especially in the Senate. And it's one of those fascinating things where Hyde-Smith, you know, had been seen more vulnerable, but it still took a strong candidate. This is somebody who obviously... There was the opening for the compelling message, but it took a lot of cluing people in that this race even had these signs of being competitive, just purely because of the political gravity in Mississippi. Even in a blue wave year, it needed a strong candidate for Democrats. And obviously, Scott Pelham kind of triangulated that message. And you even saw, you know, that whole idea of, you know, pick another protein, pick another senator was an ad message for him. It really seemed to resonate and really became arguably one of the strongest Senate campaigns of not just this cycle, but really any recent cycle. Yeah, I think that ad really had legs in terms of getting even outside of Mississippi and bringing some national attention to this race. I also think you make a great point about Republicans who rely so heavily on their voters just being habitually and culturally Republican. That's part of the story out of a place like Kansas for Roger Marshall, definitely part of the story in Mississippi with Cindy Hyde Smith. But I think when you look at the South and the ways that you and I talked about this, one of the stunners on election night was why is the Louisiana Senate race as close as it is? I mean, is this a lesson for national Democrats about what it looks like to invest in states that they thought might have been lost? I'm thinking of a place like Florida, frankly, which has suffered from lack of Democratic investment for really the last eight years. Is this a lesson of invest everywhere? It's funny you say that, Ali. My conversations with DNC Chair Ken Martin, especially before the election, were interesting. You'll hear him say to the public, to Democratic voices, that he doesn't see any state as being a perpetual red state. And I think it's easy to scoff at that kind of optimism, especially before these results. But when you see what's happened, Democrats have an opportunity to actually make arguments in parts of the country. They really did not think we're winnable for years and years and years. Now, obviously, there were so many elements here between obviously there were interesting candidates. There was the political gravity that helped Democrats in this blue wave, blue tsunami situation. Democrats can build on this, but they have to obviously try and figure out how to invest in these communities to make that argument. The political conditions will not always be as favorable for them as they were last week. Yeah, absolutely underscore that last piece of it. And that's where Democrats have to continue looking at what were the proactive things that worked, not just reacting to this very anti-Republican, anti-Trump environment. I also want to update viewers on what's going on in Alaska because that Senate race there remains too close to call. Ballots continue to be tallied. We knew it was going to take a while. As of this morning, it is the only Senate race not yet called from the midterms. Democrat Mary Peltola holds a slight lead over incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by just under 4,000 votes. Peltola's lead is slightly below the 4,100 votes cast for the other Dan Sullivan, Dan Jay, in the race. He's a former schoolteacher. That matters because the Trump administration sued in October to preemptively block, quote, any election result that may be impacted by voter confusion. A district judge, of course, dismissed the case, but the Trump administration is appealing. At the same time, a judge in Alaska denied an effort by the Peltola campaign to obtain a centralized list of absentee voters whose ballots were rejected. The Peltola campaign argued that access to the rejected ballot information was necessary to help ensure all eligible voters had their ballots counted. The judge, though, called that request not reasonable, citing the timing and heavy workload facing election officials as they continue counting ballots. And remember, if neither of these candidates hit 50 percent, then you start getting into the ranked choice voting, second choices and so on. We'll keep waiting for those results. But then, of course, fresh off the party's sweeping midterm wins, Democratic officials and strategists are all meeting in Denver to plot the party's future. Beginning today, the What's Next conference will feature dozens of Democratic heavyweights and potential presidential contenders, all as the party figures out what to do with majorities in both chambers and at least a dozen new legislative chambers as well. The schedule includes appearances by victorious candidates from the midterms, like Senator-elect James Tallarico of Texas and Senator-elect Josh Turek of Iowa. A number of potential 2028 presidential hopefuls are going to be there, too. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Democratic Senator Cory Booker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, all of them set to attend. The gathering also serves as a showcase for Denver, which is vying to host the Democrats 2028 convention by promoting Colorado as an example of a purple state turned solidly blue. Hunter, you got to identify some coffee shops for us early if that is, in fact, where the convention is going to be held. But I think more broadly, What are some of the conversations? Because I think the very Washington question this week is, are you going to Denver? Everyone is flocking to this city. They are tired from the midterms, but they are energized. What do you think the central lines of conversation have been as you've been talking to your sources in the lead up to this confab? What's been so surprising to me, Ali, is frankly, just how happy folks are, because it sounds silly because obviously Democrats, you know, they defeated Donald Trump in 2020. They obviously had won back the Senate. But that was right. You know, this all happened during covid. And then obviously, January 6th happened. This is really these victories last week. This was really the first time Democrats, I think, have been able to breathe a sigh of relief. In the Donald Trump era, in a major way, because even in the 2018 midterms, when they won back the House, they actually lost ground in the Senate. So this is this moment where they see just these massive wins in the House map. They see, obviously, this really comfortable Senate majority they're coming in with now. They see a lot of. ...reasons to be hopeful for the future. And I wonder if there's some potential 2028 candidates who are thinking, oh, I'm not going to run. And then they see these results and they're more energized about it. It was always expected to be a really large field of candidates on the Democratic side. You look at something like this, though, with the results and the energy, this is the happiest, like I said, that I've seen Democrats in quite some time. And it just gives this idea of instead of maybe some of these larger policy debates, which of course are going to happen, there is this ability to perhaps maybe just say, Like, are they going to run on this open change message? Are they going to run more trying to just have optimism in a way they didn't seem to have back in 2019, 2020, when they were first running against or running against Donald Trump's reelection? Because hope wasn't really something that voters were buying at that point. They may have that opportunity now. And at this conference, as we talk to these candidates, these events, it'll be interesting to see if hope is more back on the menu. Yeah, I'm interested in that, too, especially as they try to chart a path here in Washington of what do we do with our majorities when we know that there's not likely to be a ton of cooperation from the White House. Very quickly, I wonder if you I look at this from the Republican side. There are Republicans triangulating. How do you win a presidential if you're not already just banking Texas as a red state? That's going to inform a lot of the people on the Republican side. But are Democrats assuming that this map is just how it's going to look and this is what they're dealing with going forward? Because that feels too quaint as well. It's a great point, Allie, and I think any Democrat who's saying, oh, Texas could win the presidency right now, and they're feeling good about that. We still don't know. Obviously, this has been fascinating what's happened in Texas. It's still so tough to win in a presidential year for Democrats. This is one of those things where there is that foundation to build on. But I know there have even been talks in Democratic circles that a strong midterm performance could still mask larger issues within the party, the party brand, and all that. And that's a tension right here, right? Was this an election that Democrats really won by their own candidates, or was this an election where voters delivered a referendum on Donald Trump? And there's probably some truth to it being a little bit of both of those things. But Democrats, obviously, they talked about two years ago around this time, just after the 2024 election, about how the party brand was really in a rough spot and voters had delivered quite a rebuke to the Democratic Party. These wins, they have reasons to be hopeful, like we've talked about, but they also still have those longer-term issues about investing in states around the country, not just the presidential battlegrounds, to have longer-term success. Yeah, I think you're right to describe it as both and, and that's certainly the two fronts that we'll be following on. What does it look like for Democrats to rebuild their brand while also recognizing that this country wasn't with Republicans after two years of seeing them run? everything in Washington. MSNBC political reporter Hunter Woodall, thank you. Enjoy Denver. Interested in what you come back with in your reporting. Hey, it's Rachel. I am so glad to see you at the end of that clip because this is where I get to tell you about a new way to watch all our clips and all of our shows and everything on MSNBC on your phone or your tablet or your laptop. You can watch things live or recorded. Plus, you can ask me and all the other hosts and reporters questions in our weekly live chats. You can go to msnbc.com/membership or just click below. Thanks.