Mississippi Senate count drags on with Hyde-Smith trailing by fewer than 2,000 votes

Election officials in Mississippi are verifying thousands of outstanding ballots in a razor-thin U.S. Senate race in which Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by fewer than 2,000 votes with about 96% counted.

Election officials in Mississippi were racing Friday to verify thousands of outstanding ballots in a razor-thin U.S. Senate race, three days after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.

Democrat Scott Colom held a lead of fewer than 2,000 votes over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith with roughly 96% of ballots counted, AFP reported. Secretary of State Michael Watson said Thursday that about 3,300 absentee ballots remained outstanding, and he separately estimated that 12,000 to 20,000 provisional, or affidavit, ballots had yet to be counted, according to NBC affiliate WDAM-7.

Voters have until Tuesday to resolve certain problems with their ballots, and mail votes postmarked by Election Day can also arrive through Tuesday. Mississippi's 82 counties have until Nov. 13 to certify results. Both parties have deployed lawyers, with Republicans demanding that officials preserve records relating to the outstanding ballots in anticipation of possible legal challenges. The state has no automatic recount procedure.

The Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson (file photo)

A Colom victory would be extraordinary in a state Trump carried by more than 20 points in 2024. Mississippi has not elected a Democratic senator since 1982, and Colom would be its first Black senator since Reconstruction. Democrats secured their Senate majority without the seat. The other outstanding Senate race is in Alaska, where Democrat Mary Peltola narrowly leads Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, with updates scheduled through Nov. 18.