Mississippi Senate race Scott Colom Cindy Hyde-Smith vote count, Digi Mart USA News (Mississippi): Mississippi’s nail-biting wait to learn who won the southern state’s U.S. Senate race is nearly over, a week after the midterm elections.
The contest could deliver the state its first Democratic senator in nearly four decades.
Democrat Scott Colom holds a lead of about 2,500 ballots, less than 1%, over his Republican opponent, incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, according to the latest tally. If he wins, Colom would become the Magnolia State’s first Black senator in more than 140 years.
A Colom win would also add to the Democratic Senate majority-elect, bringing it to 55 seats, with a knife-edge race in Alaska still to be called. The Democrat’s razor-thin advantage has defied expectations in a conservative state that President Donald Trump won in 2024 by more than 22 points.
State law sets this Friday as the deadline to certify results, but thousands of postal and affidavit ballots remain uncounted. Affidavit ballots are those not immediately accepted because of a discrepancy, such as lacking proper identification on election day.
Voters are asked to fill out a provisional ballot and return to resolve the issue.
The deadline for both affidavit and mail-in ballots was Tuesday. State officials estimate between 12,000 and 20,000 affidavit ballots were cast.
As of Tuesday morning, roughly 15,500 had been processed, a difference that could be enough to swing the race.
A Colom victory would end a Republican winning streak in Mississippi that dates back to 1982. It would also add to a string of Democratic successes nationally this election, including a landslide majority in the House of Representatives.
Each party has sent teams of lawyers into Mississippi, raising the possibility of legal challenges over the result.
On the campus of Jackson State University, a historically Black college in Mississippi, students spoke to the BBC about the race as the sun set. Many of them voted for the first time this year, and all said they had cast their ballots for Colom.
“I really feel like a change is what we need,” 18-year-old Jamyria Dunn said. “I’ve had some amazing days in my life, but seeing Mississippi, this state in particular, turn blue, would really bring a light to my heart that people just would not understand.”
Her friend, Journey Moore, said she would feel excited if Colom won, leaving his mark on African-American history. “On a scale of one to 10, it’s definitely 1,000,” she said.
“I’m witnessing it, and I’m a part of it. It’s pretty great.”
In Brookhaven, in Lincoln County, where Hyde-Smith was born and where Trump won 72% of votes two years ago, party loyalty was evident. Everyone the BBC spoke to said they either did not vote or voted for Hyde-Smith.
No one denied that the cost of living had gone up, but few blamed Trump or Hyde-Smith.
“It always seems, no matter who’s in office, there’s a spike in gas prices. There’s always a war.
Things are always going up and down,” said Travis Powe, a 29-year-old logger who voted for Hyde-Smith.
Keith Scott, a Trump supporter, said both parties had been “attacking Trump at all angles, which was why we voted for him.” Still, Scott said the race was unexpectedly close because the president had not delivered during his second term. “Trump and his administration did not hold up what they ran on.
Bottom line,” Scott said.
Lee Barry, also a lifelong Republican, said high gas prices and grocery costs were cutting into household budgets. He said he thinks Hyde-Smith was hurt by the costs and should have been out on the campaign trail more.
Colom appeared to be riding a national wave of resentment against Republicans, who suffered several defeats this election in typically conservative strongholds such as Texas, Kansas and Iowa. Exit polls indicate voter backlash against Trump’s Republican Party has been driven largely by economic woes, which voters blamed on the administration’s tariffs and war with Iran.
Colom, a local prosecutor, used the national mood to his advantage, highlighting his opponent’s support for Trump’s tariffs and nicknaming her “Cindy High Prices.” He campaigned aggressively, visiting all 82 counties in Mississippi. Hyde-Smith’s campaign accused Colom of being a puppet of billionaire liberal donor George Soros, whose family has helped fund the Democrat’s campaigns.
Her opponents criticized her for a lack of public appearances, and Democrats accused her of insensitivity after she told voters worried about beef prices that “you have so many proteins to choose from.”
The race also became competitive because of Mississippi’s large Black population, which is expected to have turned out in record numbers this election. Early exit polls show the state’s Black voters, who historically vote Democratic, gave Democrats 91% of their votes.
