Colom widens Mississippi Senate lead as thousands of ballots remain uncounted

Democrat Scott Colom expanded his narrow lead over incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) in Mississippi's Senate race on Wednesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, as counties around the state slowly added a smattering of remaining ballots ¹. The Hill reported Colom's lead at just more than 1,800 votes ¹, while CBS News put it at a little over 1,000 votes and still rated the race a toss-up ².

Mississippi's top election official said the state is waiting on 3,600 outstanding ballots to see if they arrive in time — far more ballots than the margin between the two candidates ¹. Mail ballots will continue to arrive for up to five days after the election so long as they were postmarked by Election Day ¹. CBS News reported the outstanding ballots include absentee ballots that will be counted as long as they arrive within five business days, as well as "affidavit" ballots from voters whose eligibility still needs to be confirmed ².

Colom's campaign manager, Gerard Henderson, said on the social platform X that the campaign is "confident" its lead will grow as more ballots are counted ¹.

We’re confident Scott’s lead will continue to grow as the remaining votes are counted. We’re staying focused and protecting the integrity of our election.

Colom himself said he is pleased with where the race stands and predicted he will ultimately prevail ². "The people of Mississippi turned out in historic numbers to make this race possible in a midterm election," he said during a press conference ².

From Channel GOPScott Colom calls Trump's attack on him a lieScott Colom · 185 plays · captioned, with the source named

The remaining votes are not likely to give either candidate a comfortable lead, but Mississippi has no method for a candidate to request a recount under state law ¹. A state election law expert told The Hill that the losing candidate would have to make the case for a recount to a judge, and there is no guarantee one would be granted ¹.

When ballots can arrive in Mississippi was the subject of a Supreme Court decision earlier this year, in which the court ruled against the Republican National Committee and said federal law permitted Mississippi to allow ballots to arrive after the election if they were postmarked in time ¹.

Should Colom win, he would be the first Black senator elected in Mississippi since Reconstruction ¹. Former President Biden previously nominated Colom to be a federal judge in the Northern District of Mississippi, but Hyde-Smith blocked him from having a confirmation hearing, a power home-state senators have over judicial appointments ¹.

Flipping Mississippi would add to Democrats' haul in the Senate, where they have already picked up seven seats and have a shot at an eighth or ninth with votes in Alaska also still being counted ¹. If Democrats win the Senate races in both Mississippi and Alaska, they would win 56 Senate seats for the first time since 2008 ¹.

Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso posted Wednesday that he is ready for the fight after the GOP lost the majority, and said Republicans continue to fight in Alaska and Mississippi ².

That matters because every additional seat pads a majority that will set the Senate's agenda when the new Congress is sworn in. The pattern is that a race this close will be decided by mail ballots and affidavit ballots arriving over several days, not by a single count.

The Record

1. Nov 3, 2026Mississippi's Senate race was too close to call, with Colom leading Hyde-Smith by just more than 1,800 votes ¹.
2. Nov 4, 2026Colom expanded his lead over Hyde-Smith, according to Decision Desk HQ, with remaining ballots still being counted ¹.
3. Nov 5, 2026Mississippi's top election official said the state was waiting on 3,600 outstanding ballots ¹.

Free to reprint Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

<h2>Colom widens Mississippi Senate lead as thousands of ballots remain uncounted</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Campaign Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/colom-widens-mississippi-senate-lead-as-thousands-of-ballots-remain-uncounted">The GOP Files</a> on Thursday, November 5, 2026.</em></p> <p>Democrat Scott Colom expanded his narrow lead over incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) in Mississippi&#39;s Senate race on Wednesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, as counties around the state slowly added a smattering of remaining ballots . The Hill reported Colom&#39;s lead at just more than 1,800 votes , while CBS News put it at a little over 1,000 votes and still rated the race a toss-up .</p> <p>Mississippi&#39;s top election official said the state is waiting on 3,600 outstanding ballots to see if they arrive in time — far more ballots than the margin between the two candidates . Mail ballots will continue to arrive for up to five days after the election so long as they were postmarked by Election Day . CBS News reported the outstanding ballots include absentee ballots that will be counted as long as they arrive within five business days, as well as &quot;affidavit&quot; ballots from voters whose eligibility still needs to be confirmed .</p> <p>Colom&#39;s campaign manager, Gerard Henderson, said on the social platform X that the campaign is &quot;confident&quot; its lead will grow as more ballots are counted .</p> <blockquote><p>We’re confident Scott’s lead will continue to grow as the remaining votes are counted. We’re staying focused and protecting the integrity of our election.</p><p>&mdash; Gerard Henderson, campaign manager for Scott Colom</p></blockquote> <p>Colom himself said he is pleased with where the race stands and predicted he will ultimately prevail . &quot;The people of Mississippi turned out in historic numbers to make this race possible in a midterm election,&quot; he said during a press conference .</p> <p>The remaining votes are not likely to give either candidate a comfortable lead, but Mississippi has no method for a candidate to request a recount under state law . A state election law expert told The Hill that the losing candidate would have to make the case for a recount to a judge, and there is no guarantee one would be granted .</p> <p>When ballots can arrive in Mississippi was the subject of a Supreme Court decision earlier this year, in which the court ruled against the Republican National Committee and said federal law permitted Mississippi to allow ballots to arrive after the election if they were postmarked in time .</p> <p>Should Colom win, he would be the first Black senator elected in Mississippi since Reconstruction . Former President Biden previously nominated Colom to be a federal judge in the Northern District of Mississippi, but Hyde-Smith blocked him from having a confirmation hearing, a power home-state senators have over judicial appointments .</p> <p>Flipping Mississippi would add to Democrats&#39; haul in the Senate, where they have already picked up seven seats and have a shot at an eighth or ninth with votes in Alaska also still being counted . If Democrats win the Senate races in both Mississippi and Alaska, they would win 56 Senate seats for the first time since 2008 .</p> <p>Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso posted Wednesday that he is ready for the fight after the GOP lost the majority, and said Republicans continue to fight in Alaska and Mississippi .</p> <p>That matters because every additional seat pads a majority that will set the Senate&#39;s agenda when the new Congress is sworn in. The pattern is that a race this close will be decided by mail ballots and affidavit ballots arriving over several days, not by a single count.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/colom-widens-mississippi-senate-lead-as-thousands-of-ballots-remain-uncounted">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/colom-widens-mississippi-senate-lead-as-thousands-of-ballots-remain-uncounted.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

Copy the HTML Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

1. The Hill, “Democrat Scott Colom adds to lead in Mississippi Senate ballot counting” (2026-11-05). thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6201459-colom-leads-hyde-smith
2. CBS News, “Democrats win Senate control — live updates” (2026-11-05). cbsnews.com/live-updates/senate-election-results-2026/

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.