Mississippi and Alaska Senate Races Stall as Every Last Ballot and Legal Trick Is Pored Over
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The final U.S. Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska remain unresolved, with close margins, slow-counted ballots, and legal maneuvering delaying the verdict and keeping the Senate’s balance in limbo.
Democrats are poised to enter the 120th Congress with at least a 54-seat majority in the Senate, yet the outcomes in Mississippi and Alaska are still hanging in the balance, leaving the final power structure frustratingly unclear. In Mississippi, incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, a close ally of President Donald Trump, is locked in a tight race with Democratic challenger Scott Colom. AP reports that both candidates are hovering at roughly 49 percent, with Colom ahead by 1,138 votes after 96 percent of ballots have been counted.
"Counties have 10 days from the date of the election to submit their certified results to our office, which is November 13," Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said, noting that about 3,600 mail-in ballots and an unknown number of affidavit ballots still must be processed. Mississippi law does not allow an automatic recount, meaning any recount would have to be forced through the courts.
In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola leads incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan by a razor-thin 637 votes, while nearly a quarter of the ballots remain uncounted. The state’s ranked-choice system means the result may not be certified until November 18, when the Division of Elections releases the completed tabulation. That process eliminates the lowest-ranked candidates and transfers their votes until someone crosses the 50-percent mark.
The Alaska contest has also drawn federal involvement after the Justice Department sued to block certification, claiming that a second candidate named Dan Sullivan was a "plant" meant to split the vote. A federal judge tossed the case, although the department said it would appeal if Peltola ultimately wins.