Mississippi Senate Race Hinges on 20,000 Uncounted Ballots
Democrat Scott Colom holds a slim 2,500-vote lead over Cindy Hyde-Smith as election officials continue manual verification of late and provisional votes.
By Yuna Patel ·
Scott Colom leads incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 2,500 votes in Mississippi's U.S. Senate race as of Friday night. Election officials continued counting ballots throughout the day, leaving the outcome undecided. The narrow gap has triggered a meticulous review process across the state.
Mike Hurst, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, stated on Thursday that the race is far from over. He estimated that approximately 20,000 outstanding ballots remain. This figure includes mail-in, absentee, affidavit, and provisional ballots.
Emily Ommundsen, a political science professor at the University of Mississippi, explained that counties are proceeding with caution. She noted that the small margins require officials to be judicious in their final counts. "Because of this narrow majority, we are hesitant to make any conclusions about the outcome of the race, as these final ballots are still being counted, within this legally prescribed period, where counties are ensuring that they are reporting the correct totals," Ommundsen said.
Provisional ballots are currently set aside due to verification issues. Voters have until November 10 to resolve these discrepancies. The total number of remaining ballots remains unclear until these specific categories are fully processed.
Both campaigns have deployed legal teams to address potential challenges. Colom stated on Friday that his team has secured an army of lawyers. "Those election commissioners and circuit clerks, they're not going to be intimidated," Colom said. Mississippi is the only state in the nation without a formal vote recount process, yet legal challenges remain likely.
The deadline to certify votes in Mississippi is November 13. Ommundsen expects court-ordered considerations if the margins remain this close. "If these margins stay as close as they are, I expect some court ordered considerations, of which ballots should be permitted to be to be counted," Ommundsen said. She identified the 13th as the first opportunity to see how the results will shake out.
