Mississippi Senate Race: Scott Colom Leads Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,813 Votes as Thousands of Ballots Remain
Mississippi Senate race is still uncalled, and Democrat Scott Colom holds a narrow lead over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. The latest count from the Associated Press gives Colom 466,775 votes and Hyde-Smith 464,962 votes, a gap of about 1,813 votes. That is roughly 49.04 percent for Colom and 48.85 percent for Hyde-Smith, with 99.83 percent of precincts reporting. Thousands of ballots are still outstanding, so the lead could change before the count is finished. No winner has been declared, and neither side can claim the seat yet.
Table of Contents
Quick Facts
| Quick Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Race | Mississippi United States Senate, 2026 midterm election |
| Status | Too Early to Call, according to the Associated Press |
| Leader | Scott Colom, Democrat, with 466,775 votes |
| Trailing candidate | Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican incumbent, with 464,962 votes |
| Margin | About 1,813 votes, or about 0.19 percentage points |
| Third candidate | Independent Ty Pinkins, about 20,000 votes, about 2.1 percent |
| Precincts reporting | 1,733 of 1,736, or 99.83 percent |
| Ballots still outstanding | About 3,600 mail-in absentee ballots, plus affidavit ballots to be cured |
| Affidavit ballot deadline | November 10, 2026 |
| County certification | November 13, 2026 |
| Official results declared | December 3, 2026, by the secretary of state |
| Recount or runoff | None available for a federal general election in Mississippi |
Where the Count Stands Right Now
The numbers tell the story of the Mississippi Senate race, a race that is far too close to call. With 1,733 of 1,736 precincts reporting, almost every vote cast on Election Day has been counted, yet the gap between the two leading candidates is only about 1,813 votes out of more than 950,000 ballots cast. A shift of a few hundred votes in either direction in the remaining ballots could cut the lead in half or wipe it out entirely. That is why the Associated Press has kept the race in its Too Early to Call category even though nearly all precincts have reported.
Colom leads with about 49.04 percent of the vote. Hyde-Smith follows with about 48.85 percent. Independent candidate Ty Pinkins holds about 2.1 percent, or roughly 20,000 votes, a share far larger than the margin between the two leaders. Pinkins will not win the seat, but his presence shaped the race, because neither major party candidate has reached 50 percent. The figures are unofficial and still moving, so voters should check the official count rather than social media posts that may use older totals.
The Ballots Still to Come
About 3,600 mail-in absentee ballots remain outstanding, and they sit at the center of the wait. In a race decided by fewer than 2,000 votes, that pile alone is nearly twice the size of the current margin. How those ballots break could decide the outcome, and neither campaign knows in advance which candidate they favor. Mail-in ballots often arrive in waves, and they can look very different from Election Day votes, which is one more reason the race cannot be called until they are counted.
Affidavit ballots, also known as provisional ballots, add a second group of votes. These are ballots cast by voters whose eligibility needed extra checking at the polling place. Voters who cast an affidavit ballot have until November 10 to cure it, which means they must provide the missing information or proof that election officials asked for. Only ballots cured in time can be counted. Counties must certify their results by November 13, and the secretary of state declares the official results on December 3.
Why There Will Be No Recount or Runoff
One of the most surprising facts about this race is what Mississippi law does not provide. The state has no automatic recount for United States Senate races. There is also no runoff for federal general elections in Mississippi. That means the candidate who finishes ahead when the count is complete takes the seat, even if the margin is only a few hundred votes. There is no second round of voting and no automatic second count triggered by a close finish.
That leaves lawsuits as the only recourse for a candidate who wants to challenge the result. A campaign that believes ballots were wrongly counted or wrongly rejected would need to go to court and make its case with evidence. That is a slow and costly path, and it is very different from a recount, where election officials simply count the ballots again. So far, neither campaign has filed a challenge, and both sides appear to be waiting for the count to finish before deciding what to do next.
What a Colom Win Would Mean for Mississippi History
If Colom holds his lead and wins, the result would be historic in two ways. He would become the first Democrat elected to represent Mississippi in the United States Senate since 1982, ending a run of more than four decades in which Republicans have held both of the state Senate seats. That alone would mark a major shift in a state where Democrats have not won a Senate race in living memory for most voters.
The second milestone would be even larger. Colom would become the first Black senator from Mississippi since Republican Blanche Bruce left office in 1881, more than 140 years ago. Bruce served during Reconstruction, a brief period after the Civil War when Black men held office across the South. Since then, no Black candidate has won a Senate seat in Mississippi. A Colom victory would close a gap that stretches back through the Jim Crow era, the civil rights movement, and the modern political era.
Those milestones help explain why the race has drawn national attention far beyond Mississippi. The 2026 midterms have already produced a wave of historic firsts, and this race could add another. For the wider picture, our report on the 2026 midterms and the historic firsts Democrats achieved on Election Night sets out the first Muslim senator and the first Black Speaker of the House. The historic stakes add weight to the wait, but they do not change the arithmetic.
How the Two Campaigns Are Handling the Wait
The two candidates in the Mississippi Senate race have handled the long wait in very different ways. Hyde-Smith declared victory on Tuesday night, before the count was complete. Her declaration came while ballots were still being counted and while her opponent held a narrow lead in the latest totals. Campaigns sometimes declare victory early to shape the story of the night, but in a race this close, such a claim carries risk, because the final count may tell a different story.
Colom took a quieter path. He held a brief press conference on Wednesday, a day after the election, and expressed confidence in the result without declaring victory himself. His tone was careful and measured, in keeping with a candidate who leads by a small margin and knows that the remaining ballots could change the picture. His campaign has focused on making sure every valid ballot is counted, rather than on claiming a win before the count is done.
Colom serves as the district attorney for Mississippi 16th Circuit. President Biden once nominated him to a federal judgeship, a nomination that Hyde-Smith blocked. That history gives the race a personal edge, because the two candidates have crossed paths before. National Democrats have moved quickly to support him. Chuck Schumer, who is set to become the Senate Majority Leader, called Colom after the election, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is sending legal and other resources to Mississippi.
Why This Race Still Matters for Control of the Senate
The Mississippi Senate race does not decide which party controls the Senate. ABC News projects that Democrats have already won Senate control, with a 54 to 44 split, and only Mississippi and Alaska still being counted. Democrats will hold the majority either way. What this race decides is the size of that majority, and in a closely divided Senate, size matters a great deal.
A 55 seat majority would give Democrats more room to pass bills, confirm judges, and survive the loss of a vote or two on a tough measure. A 54 seat majority is still a working majority, but it is thinner, and it leaves less room for disagreement inside the party. Every seat counts when the margin is this tight, which is why both parties are paying close attention to a race in a state that rarely draws this kind of national focus.
Alaska is the other race still being counted, and it tells a similar story of a long wait. Our report on the Alaska Senate race, still uncalled as Sullivan and Peltola wait on the ranked choice count explains how that system could keep its result open for up to two weeks. The wider midterm story also adds context. Our report on the record five Black governors elected in the 2026 midterms explains how four new Black governors joined Maryland Governor Wes Moore in office.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Mississippi Senate race over?
No. The Mississippi Senate race is still uncalled, and the Associated Press lists it as Too Early to Call. Scott Colom leads Cindy Hyde-Smith by about 1,813 votes with 99.83 percent of precincts reporting, but about 3,600 mail-in absentee ballots are still outstanding, along with affidavit ballots to be cured by November 10. The result will not be official until December 3.
Who is leading the Mississippi Senate race?
Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. The latest Associated Press count gives Colom 466,775 votes and Hyde-Smith 464,962 votes. That is about 49.04 percent for Colom and 48.85 percent for Hyde-Smith. Independent Ty Pinkins has about 20,000 votes, or about 2.1 percent. The figures are unofficial and still moving.
Will there be a recount or a runoff in Mississippi?
No. Mississippi has no automatic recount for Senate races and no runoff for federal general elections. Whoever finishes ahead when the count is complete takes the seat. Lawsuits are the only recourse for a candidate who wants to challenge the result, and neither campaign has filed one so far.
What would happen if Scott Colom wins?
Colom would become the first Democrat elected to represent Mississippi in the United States Senate since 1982. He would also become the first Black senator from Mississippi since Republican Blanche Bruce left office in 1881. The win would also expand the Democratic Senate majority from 54 seats to 55 seats, based on current projections.
Sources
- Mississippi Monitor: Colom extends lead over Hyde-Smith with thousands of affidavit and mail-in absentee ballots to be counted
- PoliAlert: Mississippi Senate Race, Scott Colom, Cindy Hyde-Smith
- Workers Rights News: Mississippi Senate, Colom, Hyde-Smith, affidavit ballots, no recount
Final Thoughts
The Mississippi Senate race is a reminder that elections are not over when the speeches end on Election Night. A lead of 1,813 votes, in a state where more than 950,000 ballots were cast, is a lead that can vanish with a single batch of mail-in ballots. Both campaigns are waiting on the same slow process of counting, checking, and certifying.
Whether Colom holds on or Hyde-Smith comes back, the Mississippi Senate race has already made history by being this close. Mississippi has not seen a Senate contest like this in decades. For now, the ballots still hold the answer, and the wait goes on.
