Democratic challenger Scott Colom holds a 1,813-vote lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race, according to the Associated Press as of 6:17 p.m. ET on Thursday. With 95.6% of ballots counted, Colom has 49.04% of the vote compared to Hyde-Smith’s 48.85%, leaving the outcome unresolved. The race remains too close to call, as election officials continue tallying remaining provisional and late-arriving mail ballots.
In Alaska, Democratic challenger Mary Peltola maintains a 637-vote lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, with 74% of ballots reported by the Associated Press. The Alaska race also remains uncalled, with final results pending the completion of vote counting.
Election officials in Mississippi note that the state does not have an automatic recount provision, meaning a final result may not be available until next week. The remaining votes are expected to come from provisional ballots and late-arriving mail ballots, which both campaigns are monitoring closely.
Independent candidate Ty Pinkins, who received 20,007 votes (2.1%), has stated that his campaign does not believe it spoiled the race for Colom. Pinkins suggested that a majority of his votes came from traditionally Republican counties, potentially benefiting Colom’s totals. “Now, there’s a fight, and he’s in the lead, and I hope he wins,” Pinkins told CNN on Wednesday.
Republican efforts in Mississippi have included a legal challenge to late-arriving mail ballots, which the GOP argued should be invalidated. The Supreme Court previously ruled against the inclusion of these ballots in a separate case earlier this year, and Republicans are now hoping the decision will help Hyde-Smith close the gap.
Background on the Mississippi Senate Race
Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982, and Hyde-Smith won reelection in 2020 with 54% of the vote over Democratic challenger Mike Espy. Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney, made history in 2015 as the first Black district attorney elected in a majority-white voting district in Mississippi. If he defeats Hyde-Smith, he would become the first Black senator from Mississippi since the Reconstruction Era.
Political analysts have noted the race’s unexpected tightness. Brian Anderson, a political science professor at the Mississippi University for Women, stated that before the election, he expected Colom to lose by 3 or 4 percentage points. “I’m much more surprised now that Colom has a chance to win,” Anderson said.
Economic and demographic factors cited by analysts include high gas and grocery prices, concerns over the war in Iran, and strong turnout among Black and Latino voters in the South. Matthew Dallek, a political science professor at George Washington University, attributed the shift to responses from Black voters to recent Supreme Court rulings, including the gutting of the Voting Rights Act and affirmative action policies.
Alaska Senate Race Update
In Alaska, the race between Peltola and Sullivan remains unresolved as officials continue counting ballots. The introduction of a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan, nicknamed “Decoy Dan,” has added complexity to the race. The U.S. Justice Department opened an investigation into Daniel J. Sullivan in July, alleging he met with Democratic operatives to enter the race as a spoiler. Peltola has denied any involvement in the scheme.
As of Thursday morning, Daniel J. Sullivan had received 3,600 votes, a number exceeding the 637-vote margin separating Peltola and Sen. Sullivan. Some voters have reported confusion over the two candidates with the same name, with one voter stating they accidentally voted for the wrong Dan Sullivan.
Next Steps
Election officials in both states are expected to continue counting ballots in the coming days. The outcomes in Mississippi and Alaska will determine whether Democrats can expand their Senate majority beyond its current size of 54 seats by flipping additional red states.