Election results Mississippi Senate race: Colom leads Hyde-Smith as count continues

Democrat Scott Colom held a slim but growing lead over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith on Friday in the Mississippi Senate race, one of the closest contests of the 2026 midterm elections, as officials continued counting ballots. The latest vote report showed Colom ahead by 2,574 votes, according to The Associated Press.

A race that could make history

If Colom wins, he would be the first Democrat to capture a Senate seat in Mississippi in 44 years. He would also become the state's first Black senator since Reconstruction, a point that has drawn wide attention in the final days of the count.

The contest is taking place in a state where Republicans have long been dominant. NBC News reported that the race has shifted 23.16 points toward Democrats compared with the 2024 presidential election, based on its county-level comparisons.

What is still outstanding

As of Friday, the Mississippi secretary of state said 9,242 affidavit ballots had been processed and 3,139 mail ballots were still outstanding. NBC News estimated that Hyde-Smith would need to win 53.2% of the remaining vote to catch or overtake Colom, a threshold that underscores how tight the margin has become.

Additional affidavit ballots could still come in, because voter identification issues can be resolved until November 10, according to NBC News. Mail-in ballots may keep arriving, and provisional ballots may continue to be verified, until Tuesday. Counties have until November 13 to certify their results to the state.

Legal steps and campaign objections

Lawyers for Hyde-Smith formally asked election officials on Thursday to preserve provisional ballots, a step that The New York Times said signaled she might challenge the results in court. Colom's campaign has objected, in a letter to election officials, to parts of that request. No court challenge has been announced as of the latest reports.

Wider midterm context

Democrats won back control of the Senate and the House in the midterms on Tuesday, according to The New York Times, with voters citing rising prices during President Trump's second term. As of Friday evening, Democrats had won at least 54 Senate seats and at least 253 House seats, though counting was still under way in several races. Republicans faced what the Times described as their worst performance since the Watergate era.

Senator John Curtis, a Utah Republican, said voters had rejected Republicans over the state of the economy under Trump's leadership. "This was about the president and the president's policies," he said. Trump, in a social media post, argued that his party had faced a drubbing because he was not on the ballot.

What we know so far

The Mississippi result is not yet final. With mail ballots still arriving, provisional ballots being checked and certification due by November 13, the outcome will depend on how the remaining votes break. Colom's lead has grown in recent counts, but the race has not been called by officials, and any legal challenge could extend the timeline.