Mississippi Senate race remains undecided as count narrows to 65 votes

Democrat Scott Colom holds a narrow 65-vote lead over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the Mississippi U.S. Senate race, prompting a prolonged counting process and the prospect of legal disputes. About 6,000 mail ballots have been distributed but not yet returned, and an unspecified number of provisional ballots remain outstanding, according to data from the Mississippi secretary of state’s office.

National Democratic operatives, including staff from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Elias Law Group, have arrived in the state to monitor the count. A partner with the Elias Law Group, which represents Colom’s campaign, said the team is investigating the outstanding ballots.

"We’re prepared to litigate, though we were prepared for this for months. We have an army of lawyers. We have local lawyers. We have everybody involved to make sure the process is followed according to the law," Colom said at a news conference.

Both campaigns acknowledge that "thousands" of ballots are still pending, though the exact figure is unclear. The Mississippi Democratic Party’s executive director, Mikell Bolden, reported that the party’s election hotline received roughly 2,000 calls from voters who were told to cast provisional ballots despite believing they were properly registered. He added that the party, the Colom campaign and national Democratic officials are contacting voters by phone, text and robocalls to resolve registration issues before the November 10 deadline for counting mail ballots.

"Everything is on the line right now for this state," Bolden said.

Republican officials are also preparing for a legal response. Hyde-Smith’s campaign manager, Jake Monssen, said the campaign is closely monitoring the remaining count and remains confident of a favorable outcome. A spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Joanna Rodriguez, said the party is committed to ensuring that every lawful ballot is accurately counted.

Mississippi law provides no statewide recount mechanism for U.S. Senate races, and challenges must be filed county by county, a process described by voting-rights attorney Ben Griffith as impractical given the 82 counties and the November 13 deadline for final canvassing. Consequently, both candidates are focusing on securing the remaining ballots while preparing for potential county-level challenges.