When it comes to lifetime judicial appointments, the Senate maintains a century-old tradition: The two home-state senators get virtual veto power, regardless of party.
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican of Mississippi, used that authority in 2023 to single-handedly block Scott Colom, a district attorney, from consideration for a U.S. District Court vacancy in the state when the Biden administration nominated him.
Now, Mr. Colom, a Democrat, has defeated Ms. Hyde-Smith and will take her Senate seat in January.
Given the stability and authority of a lifetime appointment to the federal bench, Mr. Colom would not have sought the Senate seat had he been confirmed, he said. But he also stressed that his motivation for running was not a matter of retribution, but a deeper frustration with what he felt was a lack of attention to the state.
For Democrats and Mr. Colom’s allies, who were angered by Ms. Hyde-Smith’s rejection, there was some satisfaction in the election outcome on Wednesday.
“Scott may have wanted to be a judge, but God saw fit for him to be someone who appoints judges,” said Jabari O. Edwards, a longtime friend of Mr. Colom’s.
Mr. Colom, who defeated a three-decade incumbent to become district attorney, had labored to secure bipartisan support for the judicial nomination. He had the backing of Roger Wicker, the other Republican senator from the state; Representative Bennie Thompson, the powerful, long-serving Black Democrat; and two former Republican governors, Haley Barbour and Phil Bryant.
Ms. Hyde-Smith was unmoved.
“I simply cannot support his nomination to serve on the federal bench in Mississippi for a lifetime,” Ms. Hyde-Smith said in a statement in 2023.
Carl Hulse contributed reporting.
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