Welcome to the Jim Acosta Morning Memo on a Thursday morning after history delayed became history made!
Put the kettle on and let’s jump in.
Senator-Elect: Leading off, it took nine days but on Wednesday night, Scott Colom became Senator-elect Scott Colom when the Mississippi Senate race was called in favor of the Democrat by a margin of just under 5,000 votes.
The senator-elect spoke to supporters after the call, and called on some of the history behind his win.
There’s so many people that had faith in Mississippi at times where it seemed impossible. People like Medgar Evers.
I can’t help but think about Medgar Evers on Veterans Day. A moment like this where he served his country and came home to Mississippi when they wouldn’t let him vote. But he had faith that Mississippi could make progress. He had faith that one day everybody would have the right to vote. He had faith that a day like this was possible.
God bless you, Medgar. God bless you, Medgar. God bless you.
When you talk about faith, you can’t forget Fannie Lou Hamer, who had faith that her being sick and tired could move a nation to understand that places like Mississippi have to matter. Who had faith that even after she became a national celebrity and she could have gone anywhere in the world, she came right back to Mississippi. She had faith, y’all.
And he wrapped up with a promise for the future of his state.
Making History: Senator-elect Colom is the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction, and the intervening 145 years have seen courageous sacrifices by so many whose names we know — Evers, Hamer, Till, Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman — and many others whose names are not as well known.
But today is not the end of their battle, it is the first step into the future they all fought for.
Change That Tune: The outgoing Senator Cyndi Hyde Smith changed her tune in a hurry. Here she was last week on election night.
We’ve been a great team together. I stopped Scott Colom from being a federal judge, and you’ve stopped him from being a U.S. senator.
And here she is in a slightly less smug mode last night in a social media video.
To paraphrase the old song, what a difference a week makes. Or as the senator-elect might say, bless her heart.
Poetic Justice: There is a neat irony in the reference she made on Election Night. Senator-elect Colom was nominated to be a federal judge by President Biden and even received the support of MAGA Senator Roger Wicker, but like so many in Mississippi’s history, Hyde Smith stood in the way.
But it was her obstruction that directly led to her defeat at Colom’s hands and the hands of Mississippi voters, many of whom were energized by Donald Trump’s racist campaign to dilute Black voting power through redistricting. Justice may not always be swift, but it is sweet.
Snow-Off: That just leaves Alaska, where Democrat Mary Peltola leads Dan Sullivan by about 4,000 votes.
You can see a breakdown of the race and what happens next by clicking here, but long story short, November 18 is the deadline for a final first-choice count, and if nobody cracks 50% they proceed to ranked-choice votes.
Commander-In-Sleep: Meanwhile, Wednesday was Veterans Day, which meant a day of Trump failing at honoring the American heroes he has so frequently demeaned and betrayed.
Before he spoke, Dozin’ Don was caught on camera resting his eyes.
And things got off to a great start when Trump mangled the phrase “Hallowed Grounds.”
Missed it by THAT much.
AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR…
And Now A Word From Our Sponsor
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Botched Improv:
