Mississippi Senate race remains too close to call as ballots are still counted

Mississippi election officials were still counting ballots more than a week after Election Day, leaving one of the nation's closest Senate races unresolved. As of Wednesday morning, Democratic challenger Scott Colom held a lead of roughly 3,000 votes over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, according to the Associated Press, which reported that 98% of ballots had been counted.

Counties have until Friday to certify their results with the secretary of state's office. Secretary of State Michael Watson said 18,178 provisional ballots had been processed, though he did not say how many were accepted. As of Tuesday afternoon, 2,323 mail-in absentee ballots were still outstanding, and 76 of the state's 82 counties had posted at least some unofficial results.

Mississippi has no state law provision for recounts, so neither an automatic recount nor a candidate-requested one is allowed, though candidates can challenge results in court. The National Republican Senatorial Committee sent a letter demanding that officials separate and preserve all affidavit ballots, a sign of preparation for a possible legal fight. A FairVote report found that of 7,437 statewide general elections from 2000 to 2025, only three recounts resulted in a different winner.