这是美国中期选举中最意外的胜利之一，是民主党人几乎不敢梦想的那种胜利。经过数天的选票统计，43岁的斯科特·科洛姆以仅5900票的微弱优势击败共和党对手、67岁的辛迪·海德-史密斯，当选密西西比州联邦参议员。这是一项非凡的成就：自1982年以来，没有民主党人在该州赢得过联邦参议员席位。科洛姆是一名检察官，父母都是律师，他还创造了历史，成为150年来密西西比州首位黑人联邦参议员。
His was one of the most unexpected victories of the US midterm elections, the kind Democrats scarcely dared dream of. After several days of ballot counting, Scott Colom, 43, was elected senator of Mississippi with a margin of just 5,900 votes over his Republican opponent, Cindy Hyde-Smith, 67. It was a remarkable achievement: No Democrat had won a US Senate seat in the state since 1982. Colom, a prosecutor and the son of two lawyers, also made history as Mississippi's first Black US senator in 150 years.
他以极微弱优势获胜，很大程度上可能归功于一个30秒的视频。这则为TikTok和Instagram制作的低成本竞选广告走红网络，引起了远超密西西比州的共鸣。一切始于海德-史密斯一句如玛丽·安托瓦内特般的言论，她自2018年起在国会任职。在一个电视节目中，当被问及肉类价格飙升、尤其是牛肉价格上涨时，她回答说，毕竟有“这么多蛋白质可供选择”。她似乎在象牙塔里说：让他们吃鸡蛋和豆子吧。
His razor-thin victory may owe much to a 30-second video. The low-budget campaign ad designed for TikTok and Instagram went viral, resonating far beyond Mississippi. It all started with a Marie Antoinette-like remark from Hyde-Smith, who had served in the Capitol since 2018. When asked during a televised program about the soaring cost of meat, especially beef, she replied that after all, there were "so many proteins to choose from." Let them eat eggs and beans, she seemed to be saying from her ivory tower.
在一个肉类是身份认同和社交核心的国家里——尤其是在南方，汉堡、烧烤和炸鸡占据主导地位，早餐还要吃香肠——这位共和党参议员的回答是一个显著的失误。这句回答成了科洛姆竞选的结束语：“换种蛋白质？我宁愿换个参议员！”
It was a remarkable misstep in a country where meat is central to identity and sociability – especially in the South, where burgers, barbecue and fried chicken reign, and sausages are served at breakfast. The Republican senator's answer became the closing campaign slogan for Colom: "Pick another protein? I'd rather pick another senator instead!"