WASHINGTON — County election commissioners in all 82 Mississippi counties face a Friday deadline to send certified results to the secretary of state, the next formal step in a U.S. Senate race that Democrat Scott Colom won and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith conceded on Wednesday.
Mr. Colom led by 4,585 votes, or 0.5 percentage points, in unofficial Associated Press results, The Washington Post reported. The AP declared him the winner Wednesday after counties reported updated results, including provisional ballots, the AP said. His lead had been 43 votes after the final election-night update, which arrived at 3:03 a.m. Eastern time on Nov. 4 from Pike County.
“While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” Ms. Hyde-Smith said in a video statement. “I want to congratulate Scott Colom and wish him well as he takes on the tremendous responsibility of representing our great state,” she said, NewsNation reported.
Mr. Colom will be Mississippi’s first Black senator since Reconstruction, WAPT reported. Ms. Hyde-Smith has held the seat since 2018.
What happens after Friday
A projection is not an official result. Secretary of State Michael Watson is scheduled to declare statewide general-election results on Dec. 3, according to the state’s election calendar as reported by Slate and Edit USA. Mississippi has no automatic recount law and no runoff for general elections, so a candidate seeking a recount must go to court after results are final, Slate reported.
Both campaigns had sent lawyers and observers to watch the count. Two days after the election, the Hyde-Smith campaign asked county officials to separate affidavit ballots from other ballots so each could be verified, saying state and federal law required it; the Colom campaign answered with its own letter warning that departing from ordinary procedures would violate voters’ rights and state law, according to Slate. Affidavit ballots are cast when a voter’s eligibility must be checked; voters who lacked an ID at the polls have five business days to present one at the circuit clerk’s office.
Slate reported that about 24% of affidavit ballots in the race were rejected for reasons such as registration in the wrong county or voting at the wrong precinct. Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller has noted that recounts “very rarely change the results of elections,” the outlet said.
Friday is a deadline in other close races, too
In Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) has not conceded to Democrat Eileen Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral who has declared victory with a lead of more than 3,300 votes, NewsNation reported. Ms. Boebert’s campaign said Nov. 13 is the final date for votes to be counted and that it would decide its next step afterward, according to Quartz, citing CBS News. Colorado orders an automatic recount when the margin is less than half of 1% of the leader’s total; a candidate outside that range may request one at their own expense.
In North Carolina, at least four Republican-held House districts were still uncalled as of Wednesday as counties finished provisional ballots, WPDE reported. In the 3rd District, Rep. Greg Murphy congratulated Democrat Raymond Smith, who led by about 300 votes, though the AP had not called the race. In the 5th, Democrat Chuck Hubbard led Rep. Virginia Foxx by just over 300 votes with 1,822 provisional ballots left to count. Rep. David Rouzer in the 7th and Rep. Pat Harrigan in the 10th each led by fewer than 2,000 votes. Recount requests are due by noon Nov. 17, two business days after the county canvass, and the state is scheduled to certify results Nov. 24, WPDE reported.
| Race | Status as last reported | Next date |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Senate | Colom (D) projected winner; Hyde-Smith conceded | County certification Nov. 13; state declaration Dec. 3 |
| Alaska Senate | Peltola (D) led Sullivan (R) by 2,517 votes as of Nov. 10 | Ranked-choice tabulation Nov. 18 |
| Colorado 4th District | Laubacher (D) led Boebert (R) by more than 3,300 | Counting deadline Nov. 13 |
| North Carolina 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th | Margins under 2,000 votes; provisional ballots being counted | Recount requests due Nov. 17; certification Nov. 24 |
| Louisiana 5th and 6th | Top-two runoffs | Dec. 12 |
Alaska and the size of the majorities
In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) by 2,517 votes as of Tuesday, short of the majority needed to avoid a ranked-choice count, which is set for Nov. 18, NewsNation reported. An early analysis found Mr. Sullivan stands to gain more than 2,000 redistributed votes from Republican Gerald Heikes based on ballots counted so far.
Democrats have already secured a Senate majority in the next Congress by flipping at least seven seats — Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas — before the Mississippi call, according to 270toWin. In Louisiana’s 5th and 6th districts, where no candidate won a majority, the top two finishers meet in a Dec. 12 runoff.
The final margins will set the size of the majorities Democrats bring to the 120th Congress in January, and the lineup of committees and leadership posts that follow.
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