Colom’s Mississippi Senate Lead Grows After Ballot Deadline
Colom has held a narrow lead since Election Day, but the contest remained unsettled while officials processed absentee and provisional ballots across Mississippi’s 82 counties. The deadline for receiving mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and for voters to correct affidavit ballots passed on November 10.
Colom’s margin has increased as additional votes have been counted. In counties that posted updates after Election Day, he has generally received a larger share of affidavit ballots than of votes counted on election night—often by about 20 percentage points. He has also won some ballots processed this week in Republican counties.
With about 64% of the estimated remaining votes needed for Hyde-Smith to catch up, Colom is now favored to win. Officials were still counting ballots, with the remaining votes expected to be tallied in the coming days and the count due by Friday. Should Colom prevail, he would become the state’s first Black member of the Senate since the post-Civil War era and its first Democratic winner of a Senate contest since 1982.
Colom’s Lead Puts a Historic Mississippi Senate Win Within Reach
Scott Colom’s growing lead has put a historic Senate victory within reach in Mississippi. If he wins, he would be the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction and its first Democratic senator since 1982. On November 11, he led Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by 4,404 votes, and the race was rated as leaning Democratic.
The final ballot deadlines have passed: election officials had until November 10 to receive mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and to allow voters to correct affidavit ballots. Colom has gained ground as those ballots have been counted. In counties with post-election updates, he has often won affidavit ballots by about 20 percentage points more than his share of election-night votes, including in some Republican counties.
Hyde-Smith would need roughly 64% of the estimated remaining ballots to overtake Colom. With 99% of the vote counted and the final tally due by Friday, her path has narrowed sharply. The remaining count will determine whether Mississippi voters send a Democrat back to the Senate for the first time since 1982 and make Colom the first Black senator elected by the state since Reconstruction.
Hyde-Smith Faces a Steep Climb as Mississippi Count Nears End
Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith faces a steep challenge in Mississippi’s unresolved Senate race. Democrat Scott Colom led by 4,404 votes on November 11, and the contest was rated as leaning Democratic with 99% of the vote counted. Hyde-Smith needs about 64% of the estimated remaining ballots to catch him.
The deadlines for mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and for correcting affidavit ballots passed on November 10. Colom’s margin has grown as officials processed ballots, and he has performed strongly in counties reporting after Election Day. He has typically improved his share of affidavit ballots by about 20 percentage points compared with election-night votes in those counties, and he has won some ballots counted this week in Republican counties.
The remaining count is expected to be completed by Friday. That leaves Hyde-Smith with little room to make up ground, while Colom’s lead could still expand as the final ballots are tallied. If Colom prevails, he would become Mississippi’s first Democratic senator since 1982 and its first Black senator elected since Reconstruction.
