Colom Leads Hyde-Smith in Uncalled Mississippi Senate Race

Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race remains uncalled two days after Election Day, with Democrat Scott Colom holding a razor-thin lead over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith as counties finish processing outstanding ballots, according to Reuters and multiple national outlets.

Reuters reported Thursday that Colom holds a thin lead while election volunteers in Jackson processed affidavit ballots “to make sure that the votes are done properly for the constituents.” CBS News still rates the contest a toss-up, noting the Magnolia State has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1982.

Democrat Scott Colom holds a narrow lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's Senate race, which CBS News still rates a toss-up.

In 2023, Hyde-Smith blocked Colom's nomination to a seat on the federal district court by refusing to return a blue slip,… pic.twitter.com/I5PQu2t0cp

— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 5, 2026

CBS News reported that by Thursday night Colom was leading Hyde-Smith by just over 1,800 votes with about 96 percent of the vote in. Independent candidate Ty Pinkins held a small share of the total. Local and national reporting said a final certified result may not arrive until next week because more mail, absentee, and affidavit ballots can still be counted.

The closeness in a state President Trump carried by about 20 points in 2024 has drawn national attention. Local reporting from WLBT and WLOX said lawyers for Hyde-Smith’s campaign sent letters Thursday to county election commissioners and circuit clerks demanding the immediate separation, secure custody, and preservation of all affidavit ballots cast Nov. 3.

According to those letters, as described by WLBT, counties must keep affidavit ballots and related records apart from other general-election ballots through canvass and certification. The campaign argued the materials could be evidence in a ballot-box examination, election contest, or proceeding before the U.S. Senate. Hyde-Smith’s team also posted Thursday that it believes thousands of votes remain in Republican counties and that she will win, while saying officials must finish counting lawful ballots.

Colom’s campaign called the preservation push a “desperate stunt,” WLBT reported, and said it is confident Colom will be Mississippi’s next senator when every lawful ballot is counted. Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst told local reporters the letter is standard for a race this close and that observers and attorneys are already in the field. The National Republican Senatorial Committee separately publicized the preservation demand Thursday.

Unlike most states, Mississippi has no automatic recount statute, The Washington Post and election-law analysts noted Thursday. A trailing candidate who wants to challenge the tally may have to sue or ask the U.S. Senate to decide seating, those reports said. That legal backdrop helps explain why both campaigns are focused on affidavit and absentee handling now.

CBS News reminded readers that in 2023 Hyde-Smith blocked Colom’s nomination to a federal district judgeship by withholding a blue slip, adding a personal history to a race already heavy with national stakes. Democrats flipped enough Senate seats Tuesday to take the chamber; a Colom win would widen that majority, CBS noted, while a Hyde-Smith hold would trim it.

For now, the only settled facts are the ones Reuters and CBS are still updating: Colom ahead by a few thousand votes, thousands of ballots still in process, and both campaigns preparing for a fight that may stretch past certification. Conservatives watching the count will want every lawful ballot secured and every affidavit checked under Mississippi law — which is exactly what Hyde-Smith’s lawyers demanded in writing Thursday.

Sources

• CBS News: Mississippi Senate race still a toss-up
• WLBT: Hyde-Smith lawyers demand affidavit ballot preservation
• WLOX: Hyde-Smith lawyers letter on affidavit ballots
• NRSC: Affidavit ballot preservation demand
• Washington Post: Why there’s no recount in Mississippi
• Reuters on X: Colom lead and Jackson affidavit processing

Reporting by Daily Beltway.