The Mississippi Senate race remains unresolved after Democrat Scott Colom built a narrow lead over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in an unexpectedly close contest.
With about 96% of the vote counted, Colom was ahead by just over 1,800 votes on Friday morning. At one stage on Wednesday, only a few dozen votes separated the candidates.
State officials said several thousand ballots were still to be counted, including approximately 3,600 outstanding mail ballots and an unknown number of affidavit, or provisional, ballots.
Mail ballots must arrive within five business days, while affidavit ballots must be processed during the 10-day period counties have to certify the results. That deadline ends on November 13.
Both campaigns have expressed confidence. Hyde-Smith, 67, said she expected to win re-election, while Colom, 43, told supporters that the results were “all trending in our direction”.
“We are trending in counties that people thought we had no chance to compete in,” he said. “And we’re winning them.”
Mississippi Senate race remains on a knife edge
Colom, a district attorney and seventh-generation Mississippian, campaigned on the cost of living and healthcare. Democrats began directing resources towards the contest in recent weeks after identifying an opportunity in a state won by Donald Trump by 20 points in 2024.
Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982. Hyde-Smith has held her seat since 2018.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has sent lawyers and other resources to Mississippi to monitor the count. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Hyde-Smith campaign have asked all counties to separate and preserve affidavit ballots.
The Colom campaign described that request as a “desperate stunt”. His counsel has also written to Mississippi’s 82 counties, urging them to follow election procedures.
At a news conference, Mississippi Republican Party chairman Mike Hurst said the election was “far from being over”. He said the state party had attorneys and observers across Mississippi to ensure that all legally cast ballots were counted.
Mississippi does not allow recounts, meaning the winner will be determined by a plurality of votes.
The contest has an added personal history. Hyde-Smith declined to support Colom’s nomination for a federal judgeship in 2023, while the state’s other Republican senator, Roger Wicker, backed him. Colom later said that not receiving the judgeship was not motivating his Senate campaign and that he forgave Hyde-Smith.
The Mississippi contest is one of only two Senate races still outstanding. The other is in Alaska, where Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is facing Democrat Mary Peltola, leaving the final size of the Democrats’ Senate majority uncertain.
