Key Points: 28 Votes Separate Colom, Hyde-Smith
- As of early Wednesday, November 4, 2026, the Associated Press had not called the Mississippi Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
- Colom led by 28 votes, 462,779 to 462,751, with about 97 percent counted. Both candidates sat at 48.9 percent.
- Independent Ty Pinkins had 2.1 percent, which is far more than the gap.
- More than 15,000 affidavit ballots were reportedly still outstanding, so the race could take days.
- If Colom holds on, he would be the first Democrat to win a Mississippi Senate race since 1982.
Mississippi Senate Race Results So Far
Here is where things stand. The AP’s race page said the count was not finished and no winner had been called as of early Wednesday morning.
Colom, a district attorney, moved ahead of Hyde-Smith by 28 votes shortly after midnight, according to unofficial returns reported by the Mississippi Independent. Magnolia Tribune later reported his lead at 43 votes with 97 percent of precincts in.
These numbers can change quickly. Check the AP and the Mississippi Secretary of State for the latest.
Who Are Scott Colom and Cindy Hyde-Smith?
Hyde-Smith is a Republican seeking her second full term. She first joined the Senate by appointment in 2018 and later won election.
Colom is the district attorney for Mississippi’s 16th Judicial Circuit, based in Columbus. He is a Democrat, and the race has been shaped by an old political twist.
Hyde-Smith blocked his nomination to a federal judgeship in 2023, which freed him to run for the Senate this year.
How the Night Unfolded
Hyde-Smith led for most of Tuesday evening. Then returns came in late from Hinds County, which includes Jackson, and from majority-Black counties in the Delta and Southwest Mississippi.
In Hinds County, Colom had 61,793 votes to her 14,702. Holmes County was the last to report, and he narrowly carried it.
That is why the lead flipped after midnight. It was a counting-order story as much as a voting story.
The 28-Vote Math Nobody Is Explaining
Here is the angle that gets little attention. With roughly 945,000 votes counted, a 28-vote gap is about 0.003 percent.
Put another way, it is about one vote for every 34,000 cast. By comparison, Pinkins’ nearly 20,000 votes could have swung the race either way, as Magnolia Tribune noted.
And NBC’s tracker estimated about 44,000 votes remained, with Hyde-Smith needing roughly 49 percent of them to catch up.
What Is an Affidavit Ballot?
An affidavit ballot is a provisional ballot used when a voter’s eligibility is questioned at the polls. Reasons can include a missing ID or a problem with registration.
Mississippi’s counties generally review and count these after Election Day. That is why SuperTalk Mississippi said the race could take several days to call.
The Colom campaign says more than 15,000 are outstanding, but that figure comes from his side and has not been confirmed.
Does Mississippi Have Runoff Elections?
Mississippi has used runoffs in primaries, and in the 2018 special election for this same seat. But Magnolia Tribune reported there will be no runoff in this race, even if no candidate reaches 50 percent.
The state also has no automatic recount law, HuffPost reported. A candidate can ask a judge for one.
That makes the affidavit count and any legal challenges the main path forward.
Is Mississippi a Red or Blue State?
Mississippi is a red state. Donald Trump won it by more than 20 points in 2024, and the last Democrat elected to the Senate there was John Stennis in 1982.
If Colom prevails, he would also be the first Black senator from Mississippi since Blanche K. Bruce left office in 1881. That would be a major historic first.
A Colom win would also be Democrats’ eighth Senate flip of the night, according to HuffPost.
Why Was It So Close?
Both parties saw Hyde-Smith as a weak campaigner, HuffPost reported. Barack Obama appeared in an ad for Colom, and Trump rallied for Hyde-Smith in Corinth days earlier.
Magnolia Tribune argued that some Republicans may have assumed she would win and stayed home. That is one view, and the vote data will tell more later.
Pinkins, who ran as a Democrat against Sen. Roger Wicker in 2024, may also have drawn votes that would otherwise have gone to Colom.
Mississippi Governor Race and Other Questions
Some readers asked about a Mississippi governor race. There is none this year, since Mississippi elects its governor in odd-numbered years, and the next vote is in 2027.
Four U.S. House races were on the ballot, and most were called early. Statewide, the Senate contest was the one that held everyone up.
If you are wondering how to know where to vote next time, check your state’s official voter lookup.
What to Watch Next
Watch for updated county totals and the affidavit count. Also watch for any recount request or court filings.
For now, the facts are simple. The Mississippi midterm elections have produced one of the closest Senate races in the country, and the final answer is still being counted.