France, Nov. 12 -- Colom's narrow victory is a seismic shift in Mississippi, a state that has been dominated by white conservative governance for generations - despite having the largest black population share of any US state.

The result adds to a decisive midterm rebuke of President Donald Trump, whose party suffered defeats in several Republican-controlled states. It will also strengthen the argument among some Democrats that their party's future runs through the American South.

"All I did was have the courage to imagine a night like this," Colom told a crowd of hundreds gathered at Tougaloo College for his victory party.

"I had the courage to believe in Mississippi. I had the courage to understand that we can show the country that M...