Mississippi Senate Race Lacks Winner as Ballots Count
Scott Colom leads Cindy Hyde-Smith by roughly 2,500 votes with thousands of ballots still pending.
By Harvey Wilson ·
Election officials in Mississippi continued counting ballots for the U.S. Senate race on Friday without declaring a winner.
Democrat Scott Colom holds a lead of about 2,500 votes over incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith as of Friday night. The count includes thousands of outstanding ballots that could still change the final total.
Emily Ommundsen, a political science professor at the University of Mississippi, noted that county officials are taking extra care to ensure accuracy given the narrow margins. She stated that officials are hesitant to draw conclusions while final ballots are processed within the legally prescribed period.
The exact number of remaining votes is difficult to determine due to the mix of provisional and late-arriving mail-in ballots. Mike Hurst, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, told reporters on Thursday that the race is far from over. He estimated approximately 20,000 outstanding ballots remain, including absentee and affidavit votes.
Voters have until Nov. 10 to resolve issues with provisional ballots, which are set aside for verification problems. Both campaigns have deployed legal teams to address potential disputes in the coming days. Colom said on Friday that his team has a large group of lawyers ready to work with election commissioners and circuit clerks.
Mississippi is the only state without a formal recount process, though legal challenges are still possible. Ommundsen expects court-ordered considerations regarding which ballots are counted if the margins remain close. The state has a deadline of Nov. 13 to certify the final vote totals.
Ommundsen said the certification date on the 13th provides the first clear indication of how the race will resolve. She indicated that this deadline is when the outcome will likely become apparent.
