Too-Close-To-Call Race for Mississippi Senate Leaves Democrats Eyeing Another Takedown of GOP Stronghold

Democrats may not be done yet riding the blue wave. The party has already claimed 54 seats in the Senate after winning in deep-red territory, and the next upset could come from an unlikely place: Mississippi. As of Wednesday evening, Democrat Scott Colom was leading Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican, by just under 1,900 of more than 950,000 votes cast. Independent candidate Ty Pinkins earned more than 20,000 votes in the tally. The race has not been called by any major forecaster and the narrow margin separates the candidates by less than 0.2 percent. Ms. Hyde-Smith declared victory on Tuesday night when she was leading Mr. Colom, who has served as an elected prosecutor in the eastern part of the state for much of the last decade. By Wednesday morning, Mr. Colom projected optimism that the race would turn his way. “I’m very happy with where we stand,” Mr. Colom told reporters. “I’m confident once the process lays out where the ballots are, we’re going to win, because the people of Mississippi turned out in historic numbers to make this race possible.” When asked to respond to Ms. Hyde-Smith’s decision to declare herself the victor, Mr. Colom responded with typical Southern aplomb, “Bless her heart.”Currently, Democrats are mobilizing to help ensure Mr. Colom holds his lead. Governor Gavin Newsom of California has used his campaign email list to solicit donations for Mr. Colom’s campaign, money which could be used to help legal challenges to the results. Marc Elias, the Democrats’ top election lawyer, is also doing work on behalf of the Colom campaign in Mississippi during the end of the vote-counting process. Thousands of ballots are still outstanding as Mississippi allows receipt of mail-in ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and received within five days of the election. “We remain confident that when every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted, Mississippians will have reelected Cindy-Hyde Smith,” the senator’s office said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon.The Magnolia State has no recount rules though the secretary of state’s office has an election handbook with a brief description of what to do for those wishing to contest the outcome of a vote at the county level. A request for a recount would have to be heard in the courts if one party insists.President Trump carried Mississippi by 23 points in 2024 and the state has not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly 40 years. A victory by Mr. Colom would be in line with other results on Tuesday, which saw North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Kansas, and Maine elect their first Democratic senators in decades despite some of those states voting for Mr. Trump by double-digit margins two years ago.

Too-Close-To-Call Race for Mississippi Senate Leaves Democrats Eyeing Another Takedown of GOP Stronghold

Too-Close-To-Call Race for Mississippi Senate Leaves Democrats Eyeing Another Takedown of GOP Stronghold

More from the New York Sun

The Republicans Take a Licking, but the Economic Boom Will Not Be Stopped

President Herzog Urges Israeli Unity Coalition

Burned in the Midterms, Calls To Overthrow New York Republican Leadership Gain Steam

Iran, Muslim Brotherhood Celebrate Midterm Election Results

Democrats’ Success in 2026 Midterms Boosts Profiles of Potential 2028 Candidates

Iran: Will the Power of the Purse Prevail in War?

Has California Rejected a Wealth Tax?

Trump’s College Sports Reform Plan a Likely Victim of Midterm Election

More from the New York Sun

The Republicans Take a Licking, but the Economic Boom Will Not Be Stopped

President Herzog Urges Israeli Unity Coalition

Burned in the Midterms, Calls To Overthrow New York Republican Leadership Gain Steam

Iran, Muslim Brotherhood Celebrate Midterm Election Results

Democrats’ Success in 2026 Midterms Boosts Profiles of Potential 2028 Candidates

Iran: Will the Power of the Purse Prevail in War?

Has California Rejected a Wealth Tax?

Trump’s College Sports Reform Plan a Likely Victim of Midterm Election