The Associated Press called Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race for Democrat Scott Colom on Wednesday evening, eight days after Election Day, and Colom celebrated with supporters at Tougaloo College in Jackson on Wednesday night. This Thursday, November 12 edition of the Mississippi News Report also covers DeSoto County’s affidavit count and voter-roll review, a holiday donation match in Southaven, and big nights on the basketball court for Mississippi State and Belhaven.
Jubilant supporters of Scott Colom hugged, danced and wiped away tears Wednesday night on the campus of Tougaloo College as they celebrated his election as Mississippi’s first Black U.S. senator since a few years after the Civil War. “For me, this journey started with a prayer. And in Mississippi, our prayers often change the course of history,” Colom told the crowd at the historically Black college in north Jackson. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who has held the seat since 2018, issued a video statement congratulating Colom and wishing him well.
The Associated Press declared Colom the winner just before 5 p.m. CT Wednesday after officials in Jackson County updated the count with 2,173 additional votes, putting Colom ahead by 4,669 votes out of 962,237 counted. The count was slowed by an unusually large number of provisional ballots, many cast by voters who had been moved to inactive status based on unverified credit bureau data provided by Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office.
DeSoto County moved more voters to inactive status in the leadup to Election Day than any other county in Mississippi, and election officials spent Wednesday afternoon counting affidavit ballots in Hernando. A jolt of Democratic enthusiasm and a slump in Republican voters appears to have delivered the longtime Republican stronghold for Colom. Read more about the local count in Colom wins Senate race as DeSoto County counts affidavits.
Tupelo Community Theatre Off-Broadway will present a staged reading of “The Laramie Project” at 7 p.m. on Dec. 1. Tickets cost $25 and go on sale Nov. 16.
Oxford Charger football faces the Horn Lake Eagles in a playoff opener Friday. Fans must buy tickets; only MHSAA State Passes are accepted at the gate.
Mississippi State beat Troy 79-57 Wednesday, earning the program’s 500th victory at Humphrey Coliseum. Favour Nwaedozi led the Bulldogs with 22 points and 19 rebounds.
Belhaven made a program-record 22 3-pointers in a 128-73 victory over Southeastern Baptist. The Blazers also set single-game records for field goal attempts, 3-point attempts and rebounds.
The Mississippi News Report is published twice daily by Mississippi News Group, rounding up the newest headlines from across the network’s Mississippi news sites.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
