Democrat Scott Colom Leads Mississippi Senate Tally Across 82 Counties

Democratic prosecutor Scott Colom, 43, holds the lead in Mississippi's U.S. Senate vote count over incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith as county election officials across all 82 Mississippi counties examine absentee and provisional affidavit ballots ahead of Friday's statewide certification deadline, according to an Associated Press report published by KCBS Radio.

While the race remains too close for The Associated Press to call, the ongoing tally could make Colom the 1st Black U.S. senator from Mississippi since post-Civil War Reconstruction. Although nearly 40% of Mississippi's 2.95 million residents are Black, white conservatives have held the state's top statewide and congressional offices for nearly 150 years.

Absentee and Affidavit Ballot Rules Across 82 Counties

Under Mississippi election law, the remaining pool of uncounted votes consists of two categories overseen by local officials in the state's 82 counties:

• Absentee Ballots (5-Business-Day Window): Mail-in absentee ballots are eligible to be counted in Mississippi provided they are received by Tuesday, 5 business days after Election Day.
• Affidavit Ballots and Identification Cures: Provisional affidavit ballots cast at polling places due to registration-roll discrepancies or identification mismatches are verified by county election offices. Voters who experienced identification issues have until Tuesday to resolve them in person at their local elections office, and all 82 counties have until Friday to certify complete results to the Mississippi Secretary of State. Mississippi law does not provide for an automatic statewide recount, leaving any post-certification review to county-by-county court petitions.

"We're going to make sure everything is followed according to the law, and I have confidence in those local officials," Colom said Friday. "They're doing their jobs. Got to be patient with them."

Hyde-Smith has not appeared publicly since election night, but wrote on social media Friday: "We are not backing down. This election is not over. Our team is working across Mississippi to monitor the remaining ballots and protect the integrity of the process. We will see this through to the very end!"

Welcomed in Jackson's Historic Farish Street District

On Friday, Colom walked through Jackson's historic Farish Street business district, where Maati Jone Primm owns Marshall's Music & Bookstore—which opened in the 1930s and is recognized as the oldest Black-owned bookstore in the United States.

"It's so wonderful! It's so wonderful to have Scott Colom as our representative," Primm said, noting that his lead inspires young people across the state.

Sorie Tarawally, a 76-year-old attorney born in Sierra Leone who attended law school at the University of Mississippi, and Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks—who campaigned with Colom earlier in 2026 as Maryland's 1st Black senator—both pointed to energized voter turnout across the Deep South following late-October national campaign investments.