Democrat Scott Colom leads Mississippi Senate race as count continues

Democrat Scott Colom is leading Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde Smith in the Mississippi Senate election as vote counting continues in the state. The Guardian reported that Colom is ahead in the race, while the BBC reported that the Democratic challenger leads by dozens of votes. The Hill described the contest as too close to call. [1][6][8]

The election has developed into an extended vote count that could lead to a legal battle over ballots, according to NBC News. Democracy Docket reported that thousands of valid voters were made inactive before the election, causing poll delays across the state and increasing the use of affidavit ballots. [3][4]

The close contest comes after Democrats secured control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2026 midterm elections, the Irish Times and Wikipedia reported. Vice President JD Vance cited the war in Iran as the obvious reason for the Republican Party losses, according to the Guardian. National Democrats had previously invested 1.2 million dollars in advertising to support Colom against Hyde Smith, as FTMQ News reported earlier. [1][2][13][15]

The Guardian reported that counting in Alaska is expected to continue into Thursday, leaving two Senate seats unsettled following the nationwide midterm elections. [1]