Democrat Scott Colom is projected to defeat Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's U.S. Senate race, several national news organizations said Wednesday, Nov. 11, eight days after the Nov. 3 election. The race had stayed too close to call while counties worked through affidavit and late mail ballots, and Colom's unofficial lead grew to more than 4,000 votes as those were counted.
A projection is not the official result. Mississippi's counties must send certified returns to the Secretary of State by Friday, Nov. 13, and the state declares the results on Thursday, Dec. 3, according to the Secretary of State's 2026 elections calendar. The office had not posted statewide general-election results on its results page as of Wednesday afternoon.
Where the count stands
The last ballots to be counted were affidavit ballots, which voters cast when their eligibility has to be checked, and mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrived by Nov. 10.
Colom's campaign said Wednesday that Hyde-Smith had no path to victory with the remaining ballots.
Hyde-Smith, who has held the seat since 2018, had not publicly conceded in any statement reported by Wednesday evening. Independent Ty Pinkins was also on the ballot. Mississippi has no runoff in general elections for Congress, so the candidate with the most votes wins even without a majority.
If the count holds, Colom would be the eighth Democrat to take a Republican-held Senate seat this year. Democrats won the Senate majority on election night with seven pickups, in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa and Maine.
What happens next
Edit USA's earlier guide to the Mississippi timeline explains each step. State law has no automatic recount, so a candidate who wants one would have to seek it. Neither campaign had announced a recount request or legal challenge in reports through Wednesday evening.
The new Senate term begins in January.
