Democrat Scott Colom has pulled off one of the biggest political upsets in recent US elections, defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s closely fought Senate race.

After a lengthy ballot count, Colom became the state’s first Black US senator since the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.

Supporters and Democratic leaders have hailed the victory as a historic breakthrough in a state long dominated by conservative politics, while analysts say the result could reshape the debate about the Democratic Party’s prospects across the American South.