Mississippi Democrat flips US Senate seat in stunning upset

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — In a historic upset, Democrat Scott Colom has won his US Senate race in traditionally conservative Mississippi, networks projected Wednesday, making him the first African American elected to the chamber from the southern state in more than 140 years.

Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney, prevailed over Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in perhaps the most extraordinary seat flip of an already extraordinary US midterm election, in which Democrats crushed the Republicans to reclaim the majority in both chambers of Congress.

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Colom’s win in the deep South adds sting to the stunning rebuke of President Donald Trump as voters around the country shunned his Republican Party, even in states that had not sent a Democrat to Washington in decades.