Mississippi's U.S. Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith may not have a final answer until Nov. 10 at the earliest, and the official result is not due until Dec. 3. Mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive through Nov. 10, and voters who cast affidavit ballots without ID have the same deadline to show it.
Just after midnight, Colom was only a handful of votes ahead. The Secretary of State's office had posted no statewide general-election results by Wednesday morning, and its most recent news release was a midday Election Day update.
Why Mississippi has no winner yet
Hinds County, the state's most populous, paused its count for the night, and thousands of affidavit ballots remain uncounted across the state. The Colom campaign put the number of outstanding affidavit ballots at about 10,000 to 15,000, according to Mississippi Today. There is no official count of them yet. Hyde-Smith's campaign said its own numbers showed her winning.
Mississippi does not hold runoffs in general elections for Congress. Whoever finishes with the most votes wins, even without a majority, and independent Ty Pinkins is also on the ballot.
The Mississippi Democratic Party sued the DeSoto County circuit clerk after polls closed, citing late-opening precincts and ballot shortages, Mississippi Today reported. No judge had been assigned as of Tuesday night.
The dates that decide the race
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, Nov. 10, 5 p.m. | Last day for mailed absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 to reach circuit clerks, and last day for voters who cast an affidavit ballot without ID to show it |
| Friday, Nov. 13 | County election commissions must send certified returns to the Secretary of State |
| Thursday, Dec. 3 | Secretary of State declares the general election results |
All three dates come from the Secretary of State's 2026 elections calendar. The mail window counts five business days and skips the Veterans Day state holiday, so the clock runs through Tuesday, Nov. 10.
That window survived a challenge this year from the Republican National Committee, which argued that federal law requires ballots to arrive by Election Day. On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower-court ruling for the RNC in an opinion by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, which leaves the state free to count ballots postmarked by Election Day. The Secretary of State's office repeated the rule before the election: ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10. The office reported 116,453 absentee ballots returned by Nov. 2.
Affidavit ballots go to each county's election commission, which decides ballot by ballot whether each one is legal. Under the state's county election handbook, common reasons for rejection include a voter not being registered in that county and a missing signature on the envelope. A voter who cast an affidavit ballot only because they lacked photo ID must bring an acceptable ID to the circuit clerk by Nov. 10, or that ballot is rejected.
Can the loser ask for a recount?
Mississippi law sets no automatic recount for a close race, and the state's election handbook describes no recount procedure.
Candidates can request a ballot box examination instead. Within 12 days after a county certifies its results, any candidate or a representative can examine that county's ballot boxes and their contents, after giving the other candidates three days' written notice. A circuit clerk supervises, and if a court challenge follows, the box stays sealed until the hearing.
A losing candidate could also go to court. The handbook's contest rules are written mainly for county offices, and it is not clear how a statewide Senate challenge would proceed under them. The U.S. Constitution also makes the Senate the judge of its own members' elections.
Once the result is final, the governor signs the certificate of election that goes to the Senate, and the Secretary of State countersigns it.
What the result means for the Senate
Democrats have already won a Senate majority by flipping seven Republican-held seats. A Colom win would make Mississippi an eighth. Hyde-Smith, appointed in 2018 and elected twice since, would return for another term if she holds on.
Neither candidate conceded on election night, when Colom told supporters, "We are going to fight to protect every vote," and Hyde-Smith said, "I assure you I will continue to be your U.S. senator."
