New York, Nov 12 (IANS) Scott Colom has made history by becoming the first African American elected from Mississippi to the US Senate in 151 years, vaulting the Democratic Party’s tally to 55 in the upper chamber of Congress.
Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith conceded defeat to him on Wednesday after the media called the election for Colom, who leads with 4,669 votes or less than half a per cent.
“I kept the faith,” Colom said at his victory rally in Jackson, recalling how everyone thought it was unlikely he could win in a diehard Republican state with a history of racism.
“All I did was have the courage to imagine a night like this,” he said.
He is also the first Democrat to win a statewide race in the deep red state in 44 years.
“I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” Hyde-Smith said in a video message, “I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state.”
With only one more Senate contest to be declared, the Democrats’ blue tsunami puts the party in firm control of the 100-member Senate.
Counting is still continuing in Alaska, where Democrat Mary Pelotola has a slim lead over Republican Dan Sullivan amid a controversy over an independent candidate with a name similar to his entering the race.
Republicans say Democrats put up the similarly named candidate to confuse voters.
There is a sense of irony in Colom’s victory because Hyde-Smith had blocked his appointment as a federal judge, prompting him to run for Senate.
Colom was a public prosecutor.
He was helped by a misstep by Hyde-Smith, who was asked by an interviewer about the high price of beef, and she said, “You have so many proteins to choose from.”
Colom turned that around against her, telling voters they had a choice in electing a senator.
The last African American elected to the Senate from Mississippi was Hiram Revels, elected in 1875 during the short-lived phase known as the Restoration after the Civil War, which ended slavery.
After that, Mississippi and other southern states that had fought unsuccessfully to retain slavery sank into depths of racism.
The civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King restored some of the rights of African Americans, while racism persisted.
Colom’s victory marks a breakthrough in the fight against racism in Mississippi, with a sizeable number of White people joining minorities to elect an African American.
In another southern state, Florida, African American Byron Donalds was elected governor.
But it also marks a breakthrough, as he won on the Republican ticket with the backing of President Donald Trump.
–IANS
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