Mississippi Senate Race Still Uncalled as Colom's Lead Widens to 1,724 Votes; About 3,600 Mail Ballots Outstanding
JACKSON, Mississippi — The U.S. Senate race in Mississippi remained uncalled on November 5, 2026, with the Associated Press's latest tally showing Democratic challenger Scott Colom leading Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,724 votes — 466,226 to 464,502 — while independent candidate Ty Pinkins had 19,978 votes. Of the state's 1,736 precincts, 1,733 had reported, a rate of 99.83 percent, with an estimated 95.56 percent of votes counted. The AP has not called the race.
The lead has widened markedly from the deadlock of early Wednesday, November 4, when AP and CNN tallies showed Colom ahead by just 28 votes; the gap has since moved through 43 votes, 65 votes and 1,138 votes to 1,724 in the AP's latest snapshot.
Ballots remain to be counted. Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said on November 4 that about 3,600 absentee-by-mail ballots were still outstanding and must arrive within five business days of Election Day — by November 10 — to be counted; the number of affidavit ballots is unknown, and voters who cast one must show photo identification at their circuit clerk's office by November 10 for the ballot to count. Colom's campaign put the number of affidavit ballots at roughly 10,000 to 15,000, a figure the Secretary of State's office has not confirmed. Counties must submit certified results to the state by November 13.
Mississippi holds no runoff in a federal general election, so the candidate with the most votes wins; the state has no automatic recount provision, and only a court can order a recount. Colom is a district attorney in northern Mississippi; Hyde-Smith is the incumbent senator. Democrats already hold 54 seats in the Senate after the midterm elections; the two uncalled races, in Mississippi and Alaska, will set the size of the majority rather than which party controls the chamber.
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Alaska and Mississippi Senate Races Still Uncalled: Peltola and Colom Lead in Evening Snapshot
Source: Associated Press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：密西西比州议会大厦。Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Photo: The Mississippi State Capitol. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.