WASHINGTON — A week after Election Day, the Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska and more than a dozen House contests remained uncalled on Tuesday, as county officials worked through absentee, provisional and military ballots ahead of certification deadlines that begin Friday.
The outstanding races will not change which party controls Congress in January. Democrats have flipped at least seven Senate seats, giving them at least 54 seats, CNBC reported, and they will hold a large House majority. But the final tallies will set the size of those majorities, and several of the closest House races are in districts that had leaned strongly Republican, according to 270toWin.
Counts of uncalled House races differ by news organization because each makes its own projections. NBC News’ Decision Desk had not projected winners in 13 House districts as of Tuesday evening. ABC News put the House at 254 Democrats and 166 Republicans with 15 races undecided. 270toWin counted 19 uncalled seats, including three California contests between two candidates of the same party and two Louisiana districts headed to Dec. 12 runoffs.
Mississippi: a quarter-point margin
In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom, a district attorney, led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 2,607 votes out of 953,547 counted as of 4:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, a margin of 0.27 percentage points with an estimated 97% of the vote in, according to Associated Press figures reported by CNBC. Independent Ty Pinkins had 20,034 votes.
Tuesday was the deadline to resolve affidavit ballots and to receive mail-in absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day, CNBC reported. Counties have until Friday, Nov. 13, to finish counting and certify results, the Mississippi Free Press, reported, and thousands of affidavit ballots were still expected to be counted.
Hyde-Smith said she is waiting for every vote. “We’ve got a lot of votes still out, and we’re counting, and we hope to come back and represent them the way that we have,” she told reporters, according to CBS News. “We’re just looking for the conclusion of our race and votes to be cast, votes to be counted.” She said high gas prices shaped the race: “People vote with their wallets, and gas prices are high.”
Mississippi has not elected a Democratic senator since 1982. If Colom wins, he would be the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction, CNBC noted.
Alaska: ranked-choice count on Nov. 18
In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by 2,517 votes out of 218,641 counted, with 48.6% of the vote, CNBC reported. If no candidate wins a majority, the state will run its ranked-choice tabulation on Nov. 18, eliminating the two other candidates, one of whom is also named Dan Sullivan, and redistributing their voters’ next choices. The state’s at-large House seat, where Republican Rep. Nick Begich leads a four-person field, and the governor’s race could also go to ranked-choice tabulation, according to 270toWin.
Colorado: Boebert trails
In Colorado’s 4th District, Democrat Eileen Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral, declared victory Monday over Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, leading 48.8% to 47.9% with more than 98% of the vote counted, according to The Denver Post, as published by The Seattle Times. The AP had not called the race, though CNN projected Laubacher the winner. The 3,352-vote margin was outside the 931-vote threshold for an automatic recount, the Post reported.
Boebert has not conceded. “Declaring victory now is like icing a cake before it comes out of the oven,” she said in a video Monday, adding that votes were still being counted or “cured” before Friday’s deadline. “We’ll make sure every eligible vote is counted and that every single voice is heard before we take any next steps.” Colorado candidates may pay for a recount regardless of the margin. Trump, who criticized Boebert in May, endorsed her three days before the election, calling her “a MAGA Warrior,” the Post reported.
North Carolina and beyond
North Carolina accounts for the largest group of open questions. Democrats have flipped five of the 10 Republican-held seats there, and the other five, the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th and 10th districts, remained uncalled as of Tuesday, according to 270toWin. Rep. Greg Murphy in the 3rd District and Rep. Virginia Foxx in the 5th were in virtual ties with their Democratic challengers; Foxx won her last race by 19 points.
Elsewhere, 270toWin listed Rep. Scott DesJarlais trailing in Tennessee’s 4th District, which Republicans redrew this year as part of a 9-0 map; a virtual tie between Rep. Brad Finstad and his Democratic challenger in Minnesota’s 1st; former Gov. Paul LePage leading Democrat Matt Dunlap by about 1.6 points in Maine’s 2nd; Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar seeking a fourth term in Florida’s 27th; Rep. Jay Obernolte in California’s 23rd; and Reps. Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino leading in New York’s 1st and 2nd. Two governor’s races, in Alaska and Kansas, were also uncalled.
| Race | Candidates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Senate | Scott Colom (D) vs. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) | Colom +2,607 votes, about 97% counted; certification Nov. 13 |
| Alaska Senate | Mary Peltola (D) vs. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) | Peltola +2,517 votes, 48.6%; ranked-choice count Nov. 18 |
| Colorado 4th | Eileen Laubacher (D) vs. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) | Laubacher 48.8%-47.9%, 98%+ counted |
| North Carolina 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th | GOP incumbents vs. Democratic challengers | Uncalled; 3rd and 5th virtual ties |
| Maine 2nd | Paul LePage (R) vs. Matt Dunlap (D) | LePage up about 1.6 points |
| Louisiana 5th and 6th | Top-two runoffs | Dec. 12 runoff |
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