Colom's lead grows to 1,138 votes in Mississippi Senate race
Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,138 votes, 464,926 to 463,788 (49% to 48.9%), with about 96% of the expected vote counted, according to unofficial results reported by WLBT and ABC News; his lead had been under 100 votes earlier Wednesday. The Associated Press has not called the race. About 3,600 mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can still arrive through Nov. 10, and an unknown number of affidavit (provisional) ballots are still being processed, per Secretary of State Michael Watson. Mississippi has no automatic or requested recount; after certification a candidate can examine ballot materials and go to court. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by 637 votes Wednesday night with nearly a quarter of votes uncounted, Al Jazeera reports.
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Why it matters
The seat helps decide the size of the new Democratic Senate majority. Mississippi voters whose mail ballots arrive by Nov. 10 or who cast affidavit ballots still have votes being processed, and there is no recount a candidate can request.
What to watch
Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day must arrive by Tuesday, November 10, and counties must certify results by Friday, November 13, ABC News reports.
Sources
- WLBT: Did your county help make Mississippi's Senate race this close?
- ABC News: What to know about recounts in Mississippi with razor-thin margin in Senate race
- Al Jazeera (citing AP): What's delaying the US Senate election results in Mississippi and Alaska?
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