Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 43 votes in Mississippi’s unresolved Senate race on Wednesday, Nov. 4, as election officials continued counting ballots. A local update put Colom at 462,821 votes and Hyde-Smith at 462,778, with about 4% of the vote still unreported.
The close margin leaves the outcome uncertain. The Associated Press had not declared a winner in the contest, which could affect the size of the Democrats’ Senate majority. The Associated Press also reported that the race remained uncalled.
Colom, a district attorney, told supporters that results were “trending in our direction” and said he was competing in counties where people had thought he had no chance. He campaigned on the cost of living and health care.
Ballots remain outstanding
About 44,000 votes were estimated to remain uncounted, according to local reporting. Jackson County officials also planned to count ballots from a St. Martin precinct on Wednesday after a technical problem. WDAM reported that Mississippi’s deadline for receiving certain mail ballots and identification documents is Nov. 10.
Hyde-Smith, 67, has served in the Senate since 2018 and is seeking another term. Colom, 43, is a seventh-generation Mississippian. The state has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982, and President Donald Trump won Mississippi by 20 points in 2024.
Democrats had secured enough seats in other races to take control of the Senate in the new year, according to the election-night reporting. Mississippi’s final result could add to their majority. The figures remain provisional while counting continues; no final certified result was available in the reports cited.
Reid Bentley