Scott Colom leads Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 2,574 votes in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race, with 97 percent of votes counted, according to the Associated Press. The race remained too early for the AP to call on Saturday, four days after polls closed.
The AP count put Colom, a Democrat, at 467,930 votes, or 49.1 percent, and Hyde-Smith, the Republican incumbent, at 465,356 votes, or 48.8 percent. Independent Ty Pinkins took 20,028 votes, or 2.1 percent.
If Colom holds the lead, he would become the first Black senator from Mississippi since Blanche K. Bruce, whose term ended in 1881, and the first Democrat the state has sent to the Senate since 1982.
Colom is a district attorney from Columbus. He won election in 2015 as the first Black district attorney in the 16th Judicial Circuit’s history. Hyde-Smith has held the Senate seat since 2018, first by appointment, then by winning election in 2020.
The count now turns on affidavit and mail ballots still being processed. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day count if they arrive by Tuesday, November 10. The secretary of state’s office says county results must be certified by November 13, and Mississippi has no automatic recount.
Source: PBS News
