CNN called the Mississippi U.S. Senate race for Democratic challenger Scott Colom on Wednesday evening, and Colom is scheduled to declare victory. Incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith called Colom to concede, congratulating him in a video released Wednesday evening.

Colom, a district attorney, becomes Mississippi’s first Democratic senator in more than 40 years.

Colom led Hyde-Smith by about 0.5 percent, or at least 4,000 votes, in the race called Wednesday evening. Final certified totals are not expected until Friday at 5 p.m.

A 50%-plus-one majority is not needed in a federal race in Mississippi, and the state has no recount process. NBC also called the race for Colom on Wednesday evening.

The results were reported by the Clarion Ledger.

Photo: The Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson. Credit: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.