Scott Colom Flips Mississippi County Named for KKK Founder

Newsweek · Sam Stevenson · 2026-11-06 13:23 UTC

The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate is seeking to become the Magnolia State's first Black senator in 145 years.

Scott Colom, Mississippi’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, has flipped Forrest County, a once reliably Republican county named for the Ku Klux Klan's first Grand Wizard, Nathan Bedford Forrest.

With 97 percent of ballots counted, Colom led Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith 54 percent to 44 percent, reversing the 18-point advantage President Donald Trump secured in 2024 in Forrest County, which contains majority-Black Hattiesburg, home to the University of Southern Mississippi.

Forrest County’s 29-point movement toward Democrats is an important local boost for Colom, although the statewide Senate race remained too close to call on Friday morning as officials processed outstanding ballots.

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