Democrat Scott Colom’s lead over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s Senate race has grown to about 2,500 votes, a sharp widening from the 43-vote margin reported earlier in the week, but the contest remains uncalled with tens of thousands of ballots still outstanding.
Decision Desk HQ’s unofficial returns put Colom ahead by 2,696 votes on Friday evening — 468,339 votes, or 49.09 per cent, to Hyde-Smith’s 465,643, or 48.81 per cent, with more than 95 per cent of the expected vote reported. The BBC reported on Saturday that with 97 per cent of votes counted, Colom was about 2,500 votes ahead. The race has not been called by the Associated Press or any major network.
From 43 votes to nearly 2,700
The margin has swung wildly through the count. On Wednesday afternoon the lead stood at just 43 votes, then 65 votes, before widening to 1,138 votes on Wednesday night in the Associated Press count. Fresh tallies on Friday, including 184 more votes for Colom and 61 for Hyde-Smith from Bolivar County alone, pushed the gap wider still, according to the Mississippi Free Press.
Both campaigns have assembled observers and lawyers to monitor the review of outstanding ballots, CNN reported. The number of votes still to be counted is uncertain — Mississippi has 82 counties and no central system for reporting totals. Estimates put about 30,000 ballots outstanding on Friday, revised down from around 44,000 earlier in the day, while the state Republican Party chair estimated there could be about 20,000 left.
Deadlines that stretch into next week
Secretary of State Michael Watson said about 3,600 absentee-by-mail ballots were still to be counted, along with an unknown number of provisional, or affidavit, ballots. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can still arrive and count if they reach election offices by 5pm on Tuesday, November 10. Voters who cast provisional ballots without ID have until the same deadline to resolve the issue.
Watson said on Thursday that about 7,000 provisional ballots had been processed, with about 80 per cent accepted. Counties must submit certified results by November 13. Mississippi has no automatic recount law, so any candidate seeking one would need a court order.
One subplot has drawn attention: independent candidate Ty Pinkins, who has about 20,000 votes — far more than the margin between the leaders — told a local television station he stayed in the race after an April poll showed he could not win, in order to increase Colom’s chances of beating Hyde-Smith. Democrats have already secured at least 54 Senate seats, but Mississippi and Alaska will decide the final size of their majority.
Related coverage: Mississippi Senate Race: Colom Lead Shrinks to Just 43 Votes | Alaska Senate Race: Peltola Overtakes Sullivan by 637 Votes
