Mississippi US Senate race too close to call. Will there be a recount?
Election Day in Mississippi was days ago, but votes are still being counted. The U.S. Senate race between incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith and Scott Colom is still too close to call.
Across the country, Democrats swept congressional races in the "blue tsunami." In January, Dems will control the U.S. Senate and U.S. House. But Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska are too close to call. It's possible that neither will be decided for days, or even weeks. It depends on how long it takes to certify the vote and any challenges.
Hyde-Smith, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, is hoping to keep her seat. Colom, a lawyer, was previously nominated for a job on the federal bench by former President Joe Biden. Hyde-Smith was instrumental in blocking his 2023 nomination.
While the majority of votes have been counted so far, the race is still too close to call. The newest numbers from Decision Desk HQ show fewer than 2,000 votes between the Democratic and Republican candidates. Both have about 49% of the vote, and those numbers fluctuate as the count increases.
Independent Ty Pinkins has just over 2% of the vote, according to the latest numbers. Now, he says, he stayed in the race to split the Republican vote.
In the U.S. House races, Mississippi kept all four incumbent candidates.
Here's what we know about the newest vote counts, Mississippi's recount laws and how soon we could get final election results in the U.S. Senate race.
When will we know who won the Mississippi U.S. Senate race?
The latest Decision Desk HQ results show 95% of the vote has been counted as of 11:09 a.m. CT.
The totals are:
- Colom: 466,735 (49.04%)
- Hyde-Smith: 464,902 (48.85%)
- Pinkins: 20,044 (2.11%)
According to PBS, the Associated Press started reporting Mississippi results about 20 minutes after polls closed Nov. 5, 2024, for the general election. About half of all votes were counted as of 9:06 p.m. CT that night. About 90% of all votes were counted by 8:49 a.m. CT on Nov. 8.
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Ty Pinkins split the Republican vote
Pinkins said in a post-election interview with WTVA that he knew since April that he wouldn't win but said polling showed he was pulling Republican votes. He said he pulled back campaigning in Black communities on purpose.
“Here is what needs to be shared. The portion of the vote that I drew, and people are concerned about splitting the Black vote, what I actually did was split the Republican vote,” Pinkins said.
The goal, he said, was to elect the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction.
Why is the Mississippi vote count taking so long?
"Since Mississippi is a bottom-up state, circuit clerks and election commissioners run elections at the county level. While not required, 70 of the 82 counties have uploaded their unofficial results through the Statewide Election Management System (SEMS). 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 in a news release issued midday on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
That means the deadline to find out Mississippi's next U.S. senator is still over a week away, according to a spokesperson from the Secretary of State's office. They did not estimate when the results might be released.
The final decision mostly depends on two factors: the last batch of precinct reports and the counting of affidavit and absentee ballots.
As of 10:45 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, an AP election tracker shows all counties have reported the majority of votes. Thirteen counties were still under 95%, according to the latest data.
Affidavit ballots were generally filed by people who did not have their voter ID or who had been marked as inactive on voter rolls. The affidavit serves as a placeholder until the voter can present their ID at their precinct to validate the ballot.
People must verify their identities within five business days for the vote to count. The deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Mississippi's Supreme Court victory earlier this year also allows mail-in absentee ballots to arrive up to five days after the election. Watson said Nov. 4 that Mississippi had around 3,600 outstanding mail ballots.
Will there be a recount in the Mississippi U.S. Senate race?
Some states have automatic recounts triggered by results within a certain margin, but Mississippi is the only state in the country without a recount provision in its laws.
Not only is there no automatic recount, candidates can't request one either, according to Ballotpedia.
That doesn't mean that a losing candidate can't challenge the outcome. They can argue whether certain ballots should be included or excluded under federal or state law. That might change the vote totals in their favor.
All arguments would have to go through the court system.
Colom said his team has lawyers prepared to pursue election litigation if necessary. But it's unlikely that any lawsuits would be filed, if any are, until after Nov. 13.
Could Mississippi's US Senate race go to a runoff?
Mississippi law does not allow for runoffs in federal general elections, no matter how close the final count is.
How to track your absentee or affidavit ballot in Mississippi
If you need to track an absentee or affidavit ballot in Mississippi, go to: https://myelectionday.sos.state.ms.us/VoterOutreach/Pages/VOSearch.aspx
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected].
Bea Anhuci is the state government reporter for the Clarion Ledger. She has covered Mississippi politics, including the ups and downs of the U.S. Senate race between Scott Colom and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, since the start of 2026. Email her at [email protected].